Re: SciFinder Scholar Contract (fwd)

[Tim Jewell <tjewell@u.washington.edu>]

Although I can't say I'd want to face this for every trial we do, I think
there's a certain logic and economy to it. If you can come to agreement on
terms ahead of the trial, you can then just switch from trial to
subscription without a hiatus for negotiation, if you decide to subscribe.  
And since the terms for the trial are the same as for the regular
subscription, it makes some sense to consider them carefully at the outset
of the trial.  The University of Washington did review and sign the
license, but not before getting clarification of some of the terms related
to permitted use.

Tim Jewell


On Sun, 18 Oct 1998, Joe Kraus wrote:

> The Univ. of Denver is considering getting CAS's SciFinder Scholar
> product.  However, even before we can trial the database and the interface
> for 30 days, we need to sign a contract agreement with them before the
> trial.  After talking with the CAS rep - Christopher Faine - I learned
> that we could not sign two agreements, one for the trial, and then one for
> the paid license.  (Maybe it is more of a case for the CAS to /strongly
> prefer/ one contract?)  Once we sign a contract for the trial, it would
> presumably be the same contract for the license, thus we could not make
> any changes.
> 
> I do not see how it makes sense for us to involve our lawyer to look at
> the legal wording of a contract BEFORE a decision on purchase is made.  I
> would want our lawyer to make any necessary changes to the contract AFTER
> the University has made a decision to purchase.  But, I guess that CAS
> will not allow such changes.
> 
> I know that other institutions can't divulge the details of their contract
> agreements with the CAS, but I would like to know how others have dealt
> with similar situations - whether from the CAS or not.
> 
> I usually do not concern myself with vendor contracts, so I don't
> know if this is typical of the CAS. (ie. We must sign a contract BEFORE
> agreeing to purchase.)  I do know that many other science info vendors are
> much more open to giving 30 day trials without making you sign a contract
> first.  
> 
> Do I have any alternatives?  Any thoughts - ideas?
> ________________________________________________________________
> Joseph R. Kraus   Science Librarian   Penrose Library   
> Univ. of Denver   2150 E. Evans       Denver, CO 80208
> (303) 871-4586    jokraus@du.edu      http://www.du.edu/~jokraus