Re: Confidentiality language and the netLibrary license

[Larry Alford <alford@email.unc.edu>]

In North Carolina we cannot agree by state law to confidentiality clauses.
We can and do add phrases such as "To the extent permitted by North
Carolina Law" or "Except as required by the NC Public Records Act" if the
vendor refuses to strike the entire clause. Such phrases largely gut the
clause. Such phrases do, however, require us to follow the procedures
outlined in the Public Records Act in order to disclose information about
the contract.  By the way, OCLC has always agreed to such changes as have
all other vendors and publishers with whom we have signed licenses. If a
vendor did not agree, we could not by law sign the license.  There are
other provisions of state law governing contracts of state agencies in
North Carolina and in almost all other states that are also deal breakers.
Governing law and legal jurisdiction is one example. Companies ususally
understand those requirements of state governments and agree to strike,
change, or work around them.

Larry P. Alford		
Deputy University Librarian    
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill		
CB #3900 Davis Library		
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890		
alford@email.unc.edu  (919) 962-1302  fax:(919) 843-8936