STM, Boersenverein and Subito Agree on Doc Del Framework

["Janice Kuta" <kuta@stm-assoc.org>]

For Immediate Release

FRAMEWORK FOR ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT DELIVERY AGREED

Negotiations concluded between Subito e.V., Boersenverein des 
Deutschen Buchhandels, and the International STM Association: 
E-delivery of scientific articles is put on contractual footing

17 DECEMBER -- In December 2007, after extensive negotiations, 
representatives of Subito e.V., a Berlin-based consortium of 
scientific libraries in German-speaking countries, and 
representatives of various international and German STM 
publishers have endorsed the text of a framework agreement 
concerning the delivery of scientific documents within 
German-speaking countries.

The terms of the agreement permit the member libraries of the 
Subito consortium to reproduce and electronically deliver any 
article requested by students, private persons or business within 
Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. This agreement 
complements the so-called international framework agreement 
between various STM publishers and Subito e.V. concluded in July 
2006. . The framework has been agreed on the basis of the new 
German Copyright Act entering into force in January 2008.

"The framework now endorsed by both parties provides a solution 
more certain and less cumbersome than the one to be introduced by 
the new German Copyright Act. The overarching goal to provide 
scientists and researchers with documents they require in a 
secure legal environment has led us to agree to this contract 
just in time, thereby avoiding a serious rupture in the supply of 
electronic documents," said Dr. Berndt Dugall, President of 
subito e.V., Director of the library of the Johann Wolfgang 
Goethe University, Frankfurt a.M., Germany.

"I am happy that consensus has been reached and I am fully 
convinced, that the new rules provide great benefits not only to 
libraries and publishers but also and foremost to users of 
scientific literature," said Dr. Gottfried Honnefelder, President 
of the Boersenverein des Deutschen Buchandels and himself a 
scientific publisher.

"STM seeks opportunities for cooperation between publishers and 
librarians and compromises that enable the continued delivery of 
STM content, especially in a digital context.  During 
negotiations both sides ultimately agreed that even the newly 
enacted legal rules could only imperfectly do justice to the 
finer points of academic and scholarly communication. Through 
mutual give and take an acceptable solution has been worked out 
that also has the merit of sustainability," said Michael Mabe, 
CEO, STM.

The agreement now endorsed enables the conclusion of individual 
licensing agreements for an initial five-year term. These 
agreements will authorise Subito and its member libraries to use 
the content of published scientific journals for electronic 
document delivery. Publishers set a rate for the delivery of 
documents to private persons and for businesses. Students, public 
and non-commercial libraries as well as academics benefit from a 
substantial discount under the agreement.

In the coming months Subito e.V. will seek to conclude individual 
agreements with numerous national and international scientific 
publishers. On this basis, the member libraries of the Subito 
consortium are to be authorised to deliver electronically 
documents published from thousands of important scientific 
journals also after the new German Copyright Act comes into 
effect in January 2008.

***

The text of the framework agreement may be accessed or downloaded 
at:

http://www.stm-assoc.org/subito and at 
http://www.boersenverein.de

A Quick-guide and tool-kit for sign-up (for publishers) will be 
provided in the coming days. For additional information please 
contact:

International Association of STM Publishers
http://www.stm-assoc.org
Phone: +44 1865 339321 and mailto:info@stm-assoc.org

or:

Carlo Scollo Lavizzari, Legal Counsel to STM
6, rue de Rive, Geneva 1204, Switzerland
Phone +41 22 321 4930
Fax +41 2 321 4931
csl@csllaw.ch

Janice E. Kuta
Director of Marketing & Membership
International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers
E-mail: kuta@stm-assoc.org
Tel: 212-533-0832
Fax: 212-420-8407
www.stm-assoc.org

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