[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by John F

I'm surprised that this is how it works in most countries. I thought that most countries had libraries that loan books to the public. And I thought that things like Blockbuster, redbox, (dvd rental companies) were a global phenomena?

Perhaps this might help:

Licensing Policy Sample: Should Your Library Have a Written Licensing Policy?

Customary Clauses in License Agreements

License agreements are open to considerable creativity by the parties involved. They are negotiable and the licensor and licensee must come to terms with a relationship that benefits each of them. However, it is important that a license agreement contain the following basic clauses:

Parties to the contract. A license agreement should state the legal names and addresses of the parties who are subject to the agreement.

Purpose of the contract. The purpose of the license agreement should be set forth. For example, to license software, photographs, or a database.

Rights and obligations of each party. The rights and obligations of each party should be set out in the license agreement. For example, the photographer is to provide the library with a high-quality version of the photo for the library to include on its website, while the library must ensure that only library patrons are allowed to view the photograph. In another example, a database vendor may provide on its server or on DVD the requested electronic database for library staff and patrons to access on the premises of the library and possibly remotely.

Usage of content. The license agreement should set forth how content can be used and how long it can be used. For example, a photograph may only be used on the library’s website for a period of one year, or an online journal may be accessed for one year on the premises of the library or through the library’s or organization’s server from anywhere in the world.

Compensation. This clause sets out how much compensation will be provided to the content provider for use of the licensed materials. It may also set out the currency, any relevant taxes, and the basis of payment.

Copyright ownership. The agreement should discuss ownership of copyright. For example, an author retains ownership in software or a database and only licenses this content to the library or organization.

Warranties and indemnities. Warranties in a license agreement set out promises that parties have made. For example, the content owner warrants that he is the owner of the content he is licensing to the library. Coupled with this warranty is an indemnity clause which sets out that should the warranties not be upheld, that the licensor or licensee will compensate the party for any resulting expenses due to the broken warranties.

The license agreement may have several general provisions relating to such things as applicable law, arbitration, and so on. The library’s or organization’s lawyer will be of assistance in ensuring that license-specific and general provisions protect the interests of the library and comply with any institutional policies.