I entirely agree with your comments.
Blackwell's approached us with a draft contract using exactly the
same wording. There is no way we would ever have signed up to it.
However, we're still talking to them about on line reading lists
linking in with the library management system.
Regards
Julie Howell
On Thu, 12 Oct 2000 13:39:25 +0000 Brian Kelly
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I understand that Blackwell's have a deal which they are making to
> institutions in the HE community which involves institutions which sign up
> to the deal agreeing to granting Blackwell's an exclusive right to promote
> their service on the institution's Web site. The agreement is as follows
> (note that Headfiller - http://www.headfiller.com/ - is owned by
> Blackwell's):
>
> "Headfiller shall have an exclusive right to promote and sell electronically
> new and secondhand books, ebooks and other teaching materials in any format
> though links from the University's Sites and/or intranet".
>
> I assume this will mean that any organisation which signs up will not be
> allowed to link to competitors such as Amazon. This strikes me as a
> dangerous precedent (should central services be allowed to censor links to
> legitimate organisations), very difficult to enforce (how will it be
> policed, will links to Amazon be expected to be blocked at a firewall) and
> also an unwise business decision (locking yourself into one organisation
> with an exclusive deal).
>
> Any comments on this?
>
> What would you do if you find the marketing wing of your organisation had
> signed up with this deal and the first thing you heard was when you were
> asked to police it?!
>
> Thanks
>
> Brian
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> Brian Kelly
> UKOLN
> University of Bath
> BATH
> BA2 7AY
> Email: [log in to unmask]
> Phone: (+44) 1225 323943
>
>
----------------------
Julie Howell
Library Services Manager
University of North London
Learning Centre
236-260 Holloway Road
London N7 6PP
0171 753 3132
[log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|