Is There Standardized Wording for License Agreements?
Generally, large commercial publishers and well-established learned society publishers will have standard licensing agreements. nearly every instance, licensors draft these agreements with provisions that are enforceable under the Uniform Commercial Code. As a result, a number of the provisions will be in violation of or conflict with the Federal Acquisition Regulation and other federal law. These should be considered as a starting point and should not be signed without review. It is also appropriate to draft an outline or provide wording for key sections. These drafts will serve as discussion tools, outline the issues quickly, and provide points for consensus and resolution. The Association of Research Libraries (www.arl.org) and the International Consortium of Library Consortium (http://www.library.yale.edu/consortia/) have developed guidelines that can be used to help develop wording in-line with the needs of your agency or federal library.
