Agreement II: Framework for Defining Educational Products, Licenses, User Requirements, and Distribution Methods

This version dated August 5, 1997

1. Purpose and Goals

See the Operational Model for a representation of the relationships between AMICO Members, AMICO, the Library, Products, Distributors and Users.

2. Museum Educational Mission

In defining educational products and offering a license to its library of art and documentation, AMICO is guided by the contribution its collective action can make to the realization of the mission of member museums to make known works and context which might otherwise not be known, provide authoritative content, encourage scholarly study and critique including accommodating conflicting interpretations, build partnerships with schools at all levels and enhance their own educational outreach beyond schools

3. Users and User Needs

Products offered will be developed with user needs in mind to overcome current barriers to licensing digital content. For example, in higher education there have been these barriers:

3.1. Barriers to Licensing Digital Content

Major barriers to using digital content include the difficulty of identifying licensable properties, the transaction costs to licensees, the limitations imposed by licenses on what are often normal academic uses and the costs to licensers of processing requests.

3.1.1. Integrated Catalogs

Educators and students would be best served by a searchable catalog of works (including detailed documentation and thumbnail images) that is available on their campus networks, in a format compatible with library cataloging systems and standard remote access methods.

3.1.2. Interoperable Resources

Too many resources require dedicated hardware and software, and are delivered within proprietary environments. The AMICO catalog will be consistent with library interoperability and metadata standards.

3.1.3. Campus Network Availability

Educators and students need to have the full content of works, including if necessary rich image files, available to them on their campus networks without the technical limitations imposed by downloading from the Internet or the time constraints of ordering them from a remote source. The AMICO Library and/or subsets ordered by subscribers will be made available for campus network mounting.

3.1.4. Demand for a Critical Mass of Educational Content

Educational programs draw on works fro a number of different museum collections. One stop shopping for rights to use content in educational programs cannot be provided by individual museums. A comprehensive catalog, that includes works from many museums, has more value.

3.1.5. Multi-Institutional Collection

Potential users need a single cost-effective way to acquire licenses for all art required for educational use. If individual museums provide content, no matter how easy it is to use, and users still need to go to other places for other museumsÍ collections, the purpose will be defeated.

3.2. User Needs

Educational institutions should be seen as partners, rather than consumers. Universities, schools and museums share an interest in the protection of intellectual property and continuity of access to licensed resources. Users should be consulted regarding the nature and scope of AMICOÍs product development plans.

3.2.1. Feedback Enabled Products

One of the potential benefits of membership in AMICO, beyond access to the shared Library, is that museums could engage scholars in research on their collections and involve school educators in interpretations for different age and interest groups.

3.2.2. Encourage Information Flow From Licensees

Mechanisms for scholars in universities to comment to museum personnel on the works in the Library and for school educators to museum educators to exchange interpretations and presentations should be deployed to enhance the value of The AMICO Library to licensers and licensees.

3.2.3. Accommodate Educational Uses

To the extent possible licenses should accommodate routine educational uses and enable and enhance current research and teaching practice.

3.2.4. Mutually Developed Licenses

A collaborative process including consultation with focus groups should be employed to evolve the most mutually satisfactory license terms and involve the licensees as partners.

3.2.5. Mutual Assurance of Security

Protection of museum intellectual property is one of the primary purposes of licensing. Achieving as secure an environment for access to rich digital data from museums as possible is a goal of the AMICO.

3.2.6. Developing Content

Mechanisms should be developed to enable users to work with AMICO museums in collaborative efforts to enhance and expand The AMICO Library

4. Licenses

License terms will be guided by the AMICO member museums' educational goals. Wherever possible, licenses will be written that enable a full range of uses of materials.

4.1. Shared Assumptions

The following assumptions will guide the development of licenses offered by AMICO:

4.1.1. Enabling broad educational uses

Educators and students would benefit from a license to use the content for any educational purposes, without having to negotiate for rights or limit themselves to Fair Use. AMICO licenses will accommodate the broadest educational uses, and offer rights beyond Fair Use, that enable a full range of curricular uses.

4.1.2. Encouraging Increased Use

Increased use should not effect costs. Educational markets are particularly sensitive to metered use because if they succeed in making a resource essential to students metered resources will increase the costs either to the institution or students.

4.2. License Terms

Only terms and conditions approved by the Board, can be offered to prospective licensees of The AMICO Library. Founding members will determine the appropriate approval procedure.

4.2.1. Licenses may be to the entire Library or to a specific part

Some products will include all data documenting a work and others may include only some.

4.2.2. Licenses may require that a minimum set of data accompany each work.

Reflecting the importance to museums of proper attribution and credit, licensees may be required to display specified data with works or in specified ways, at all times.

4.2.3. Licensed products may augment the data provided by the individual museums

Value added information may be generated by AMICO, and/or its distributors, as approved in product plans surrounding each license and approved by the Board. Such data will be returned to the museums and, when possible, licensed in subsequent AMICO distributions.

4.2.4. Licenses will accommodate educational users

License terms will be defined in consultation with users, and will be written to respect user needs.

4.3. Different Licenses Will Be Offered By AMICO

Each license may have different terms and conditions, prices, support structures, distribution methods, etc., as deemed appropriate for the use and market. Differing fees may be charged for the same licensed use, depending on the uses and market. These include:

4.3.1. College and University Educational Use

This license framework has already been drafted; see Agreement II-I: Framework for a License Agreement for the University Educational Use of Museum Digital Content.

4.3.2. Museum Uses

A license to support a full range of museum uses, including those AMICO members desire to make, has been drafted, see Agreement II-2 Framework for a License Agreement for Museum Educational Use of Museum Digital Content.

4.3.3. Public Library Uses

Licenses will have to be developed for both Reference Use and Program Use. Library delivery of materials through the Internet will need to be considered.

4.3.4. Kindergarten through Grade 12 Use

Licenses will need to be developed for State Educational Authorities, School Boards and Individual schoolsÜboth public and private.

4.3.5. Other Cultural Agencies

AMICO Inc. will explore educational licensing to other cultural agencies and non-degree granting institutions, such as Art Centers, Cultural Centers, Senior Citizens Homes, Community Recreation Centers. Licenses will be developed if responsible licensing institutions and means of distribution can be identified.

4.4. AMICO Members License The Library

AMICO members will have access to the Library under the terms of any license offered by the consortium. If necessary, new licenses will be developed to cover membersÍ desired uses.

4.5. License Fees

Fees charged for the use of AMICO Products will be calculated based on AMICOÍs costs, and should not be considered by users to be exceptional or costly.

4.6. Enforcing Licenses

Penalties for violating license agreements should be clearly stated and strongly enforced. Licensees should be responsible for reporting known violations and acting upon them.

4.6.1. AMICO Acts Against Infringers

AMICO should act against both individual and institutional violators, suspending licenses and resorting to legal action as necessary.

4.6.2. Involve Licensees in Maintaining Terms

While technical means of protecting, and especially of watermarking, intellectual property will be investigated, the mutual interests of licensees and AMICO member museums make institutional policies and practices on the part of the licensees the strongest possible security guarantors. Licensees should report security practices and policies.

4.6.3. Require Action Against Infringing Individuals at Licensed Institutions

Educational institutions should agree to act against individual violators of the licenses.

5. Educational Products

Licenses will be offered to different portions and combinations of The AMICO Library, based on market and user needs analysis.

5.1. Shared Assumptions regarding the Value of AMICO Library

Enabling access to authoritative data from museums involves its value-added collation, editing and the provision of integrated cataloging.

5.1.1. Quality Images

High quality images are desirable for research and teaching.

5.1.2. Consistent Data

Consistent documentation, including authority controlled personal names, place names, and art terminology which will support the most productive use of the Library.

5.1.3. Authoritative Sources

The scholarly source of information is critical to its assessment. The AMICO Library will show attribution and identify the authority of those contributing or interpreting documentation.

5.1.4. Deliver detailed data and interpretation

The AMICO Library will support rich documentation, and establish a minimum standard far beyond that of the commercial market place of image libraries in order to set its product apart and make it most appealing to educational users.

5.1.5. Discourse Enabled Products

Scholarship is enhanced in environments that permit the discussion of disputed ideas and the exploration of connections. . AMICO will pursue the incorporation of feedback tools in its educational products with its distributors..

5.1.5. Preserve Nuance in Data and Discourse

Documentary structures which record disputed facts and claims, attribute ideas should be developed by AMICO.

5.1.6. Standards based data and technologies

AMICO will invest in open, standards based technology solutions to enable the broadest use.

5.1.7. Use Enabled Products

AMICO data may be licensed together with tools to enhance educational uses, such a enhancing presentation and display, assisting in data analysis, or enabling discourse between users, teachers, and content holders. These tools may be developed by distributors and users and licensed back through AMICO to other licensees.

5.1.8. Integration with other Resources

AMICO should not simply aim to provide one catalog, but also ensure that The AMICO Library can be interfaced with the university library and with reference tools that support scholarly documentation.

5.2. Products offered by AMICO

AMICO will offer a number of products, each tailored for a particular user group.

5.2.1. Types of Products

Educational products offered by AMICO Inc. will include: 5.2.1.1. The catalog of the Library, which will be made publicly available on the

Internet together with thumbnail images of works. Tools associated with this catalog will enable licensees to obtain full data on a work and non-licensees to inquire directly to the museum about rights to use the work or to obtain reproductions.

5.2.1.2. The Full Library, available through AMICO and its distributors, under terms of access established by each distributor and approved by AMICO

5.2.1.3. Subsets of the Library, as authorized by the AMICO Board. These subset may be formed on the basis of theme or subject content, or on the basis of the depth of data provided.

5.2.1.4. The AMICO Library or its subsets, 'bundled' together with specific tools.

5.2.2. New Product Development

A reasonable approach will be taken to new product development, so as not to overburden the Consortium or its members.

5.2.2.1. Defined by the Board

Plans to develop products from The AMICO Library will be approved by the Board.

5.2.2.2. Content of Products May Vary

AMICO products may be made up of contributions from some or all member museums. AMICO will not develop a product based solely on the collection of one museum, although if members approve, it could offer a license which included products made by one member museum..

5.2.2.3. Reasonable Schedule

New Products will be developed on a reasonable schedule and with realistic timelines and budgets. Each should have a defined testing phase.

5.2.2.4. Distributor Role in Product Offering and Planning

Products authorized by AMICO Inc. will be offered through its distributors and distributors will be encouraged to propose new product plans.

6. Distribution

AMICO will distribute its library to the educational community insofar as possible through existing data distributors such as library networks, community networks, and government agencies which would:

6.1. market products, making them known to potential licensees;

6.2. train licensee representatives, to make the educational products available to end-users in a way that permits them to take advantage of its features;

6.3. provide user support and documentation to enable thorough exploitation of the products;

6.4. collect license fees and manage the administration of license terms;

6.5. provide security for the data and monitor violations on behalf of AMICO;

6.6. report to AMICO on use and any known miss-use of the products, according to guidelines established in their contracts;

6.7. deliver reliable telecommunications to end-users;

6.8. add value on the front end to integrate with their other products and enter into contracts with AMICO to return added-value to AMICO museum members and allow its incorporation into future distributions.

Copyright Archives & Museum Informatics, the Art Museum Network and the Association of Art Museum Directors

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