Licensee Performance Obligations

The licensee’s core obligation under the agreement is to use digital information subject to the terms contained in the agreement. There may be additional specific obligations on libraries, including informing authorized users of the terms of the license agreement and, more specifically, the uses of the information are permitted and prohibited. These clauses should be considered carefully. Libraries should be wary of clauses which impose onerous responsibilities to monitor usage of the materials. While librarians should do what they can to inform users of restrictions on use of the authorized materials and stop unauthorized use when it is discovered, they should not obligate themselves to police their users or promise to take remedial action against unauthorized use that is beyond their authority.

Other licensee obligations will depend on the means by which the library or its users gain access to the licensed materials. Where access is through passwords and/or usernames, the licensor will often request that the library inform its users of their obligation not to divulge the passwords to unauthorized users and that the library itself maintain the confidentiality of the passwords it uses to access the materials. Again, these provisions should be analyzed carefully to ensure that the library does not undertake unreasonable monitoring or policing responsibilities.

Example Clauses

See also:

Last updated: April 25, 2012

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