Re: Terms subject to change

[Rick Anderson <rick.anderson@utah.edu>]

> Seems to me that a contract that can be modified at will by one 
> party isn't much of a contract.

I'd say you're right, and in fact I'm not sure terms such as 
those you described in the default language would even be legally 
enforceable if it came down to that.  However, if I were you I 
wouldn't take any chances -- I would walk away from a purchase 
rather than sign a license that doesn't bind both parties to a 
defined set of performances.  I'm frankly amazed that a major 
publisher would insist on such language; I've encountered 
unilateral-alteration terms more than once, but I can't think of 
a single time that the publisher insisted on keeping it after its 
ridiculousness was pointed out.

Just my $.02,

Rick Anderson
Assoc. Dir. for Scholarly Resources & Collections
Marriott Library
Univ. of Utah
rick.anderson@utah.edu