[Videolib] Swank Digital campus follow-up
Hello Dear Wisdom, Few days ago I sent an e-mail about who was doing Swank Digital campus. I was asked if I could do a summary of all the replies. My issue was I would like to do Swank but have the films in our catalog and not just in blackboard or any other course management. Off the replies I got, nobody is adding the titles to the catalog because under the contract you cannot do that, even if you talk to them and agree to have them in the catalog, you can't because Swank does not have a system to recognize IPs. You could do passwords though. So far we have not found another way to go around. It is disappointing for me because it's a good idea but way too limited. I have a lot of faculty who does not want to use blackboard, also quite some money to have them so limited. I want all students who can't use them for projects be able to do so, not just the ones in the course reserve. We have too many databases and to want to use passwords way to messy again. Anyway, thank you so much to all who replied. I will be looking at the Alexander Street new database with movies from independents that will come up later on. If anybody is doing something similar with movies and streaming please let me know. Thanks, Cindy __ Cindy Badilla-Melendez Media Resources Librarian O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, University of St. Thomas Mail #5004, 2115 Summit Ave, St Paul, MN 55105 phone (651) 962-5464 fax (651) 962-5406 VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
Re: [Videolib] Swank Digital Campus
Hi Kim, I guess I disagree with Gary. Short term access to resources for classes is something we've provided for forever in Reserve Services here at the University of Connecticut. Historically that was books but now we've grown to journal articles, full text links to journals and ebooks, personal copies, and now streaming video and audio. We've used Swank for a couple of semesters now. They are expensive but we apply the same criteria to obtaining Swank streams as we do for other streams. e.g. when one or more of the following conditions arise: used for more than one class in more than one semester, used at a regional campus where students are non-resident, and to support distance learning and blended classes. Although nowhere near half of our streams come from Swank, our data shows that about half of what's put on Reserve are feature films. In answer to your original questions. The Library is responsible for the transaction and our name is on the invoice. We also pay for the stream. And, no, once explained to them, faculty understand the short term duration of the access. There are other departments who help faculty develop online courses but since our library has so much valuable content which already license and can be used for online courses (e.g. ejournals, ebooks, newspapers, images, etc.), the provision of moving image streams is a very natural addition to content provision. I might add that it is not just online courses which benefit from e-whatever. Blended courses and even traditional courses also benefit. Jo Ann Jo Ann Reynolds Reserve Services Coordinator University of Connecticut Homer Babbidge Library Storrs, CT 860-486-1406 jo_ann.reyno...@uconn.edu Question Reality -Original Message- From: videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu [mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of ghand...@library.berkeley.edu Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2010 4:17 PM To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Subject: Re: [Videolib] Swank Digital Campus Hey Kim As you know, this is one of the many things that gets me seeing crimson. I am categorically NOT one of those librarian types that refuses to let go of traditional function or to embrace new...but: I can see no justification whatsoever for libraries getting into the business of picking up the tab for short term/ephemeral access...it simply doesn't make sense to me--certainly not from a budgetary standpoint. Libraries acquire, organize, catalog...physical or not, the stuff we acquire has always been inventoriable...and that's the way it should be, in my book. Support of short-term, course-specific access belongs elsewhere, unless campus is willing to beef up your budget sufficiently... If this were to develop on my campus, I'd most definitely foist it off on our Sakai wonks (Educational Technology Services)--the folks who develop, manage, and maintain classroom technologies and resources. That's where it belongs. Gary Handman Hi all, I think we're about to license our first streaming film through Swank Digital Campus. The usage scenario is so different from what I normally deal with. Typically, my library licenses individual films from distributers for use by all current student faculty, for a term ranging from 3 years to perpetuity and we stream the content from a library-run server and management system. The Swank content would be license for 1 semester, would only be accessible to a specific class and would be hosted off-site. I'm trying to figure out what my library's role should be in the Swank scenario. If you've used Swank Digital Campus at your institution (or deal with other short term/ course specific digital rights), could you tell me how this was handled. * Who is responsible for the transaction - i.e whose name is on the contract/ invoice? The Library, the academic department, the faculty member, another campus group? * Who directly pays for the content? * If both of the above were handled by the library, was there any resistance to this sort of short term, limited access being the library's responsibility? * Is there another department on your campus that more directly supports development and resources for online courses? What was their involvement? Thanks! Kim Stanton Head, Media Library University of North Texas kim.stan...@unt.edu P: (940) 565-4832 F: (940) 369-7396 VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors. Gary Handman Director Media Resources Center Moffitt Library UC Berkeley 510-643-8566 ghand
Re: [Videolib] Swank Digital Campus
I am not sure if we are talking about the same kind of film, but fiction feature films are nearly always licensed from large companies or sales agents that represent them and you definitely may not license them to anyone beyond the term of your contract without their agreement. I imagine if you work directly with a filmmaker things are different, but contracts for standard feature films limit the distributor's rights to the term of the contract. In general rights not explicitly granted in a contract belong to owner. There was a lot of nasty arguments when DVD came in and companies realized that most old contracts did not cover the format. It would hardly make sense for a company to license a film to distributor for say 7 years and yet allow the distributor to license it in perpetuity. What for instance would prevent a distributor from making all TV sales and Netflix deals in perpetuity? They would also have fire sales when rights were expiring and just start selling rights to anyone they could get any money from . The reason rights are so damn complicated with foreign and independent films is that they change and expire so often. Streaming rights are a contract, not a physical item like a print or DVD which can be sold for life of format and a company whose rights are limited to a certain period can't sell them to someone else for a longer period. I am currently involved in sales marketing for a number of films. With one group I work with the director so these films can be licensed for a month or in perpetuity as she owns all the rights. The others I work with are under contract with several very large European companies and under no circumstances could I legally license them in perpetuity. If the issue came up, I could ask them if they would agree, but unless a LOT of money is involved I would not hold my breath. They would certainly take legal action if they found out I was claiming rights to license their films beyond the terms in the contract. Again films where are working directly with a filmmaker may have more flexibility because of the relationship, but I am referring to fiction feature films many of which are under contract from large and often litigious rights holders. Every contract I have ever seen or been involved with on those would not allow a distributor to sell any rights extending beyond their own contract. If anyone else who deals with fiction feature titles want to comment I would be most interested. On Thu, Sep 30, 2010 at 5:38 PM, Elizabeth Sheldon elizab...@kinolorber.com wrote: For clarity, unless a contract between a filmmaker and a distributor specifies that the distributor may not grant licenses that extend beyond the original Term of the contract, a distributor may license a film for any given period of time during the original license period. For example, if a contract was signed in 2005 for a seven year term, a distributor could grant licenses that extend ten years beyond, or even, in perpetuity. The right to grant licenses expires in 2012, not the licenses granted to the end user. For example, a PPR license is for the life of the DVD. Even if the distributor only has seven years to grant PPR licenses to customers, the customer's license does not end when the distributor's contract ends. Likewise with digital site licenses, it is for the term of the digital site license agreed to between the institution and the distributor. Unless there are underlying rights issues and/or a clause that limits the term of a license to a certain period beyond the end of the original contract, there is no reason for a distributor not to offer a digital site license in perpetuity. From a legal point of view. Best, Elizabeth Elizabeth Sheldon Vice President Kino Lorber, Inc. 333 W. 39th St., Suite 503 New York, NY 10018 (212) 629-6880 www.kinolorberedu.com On Sep 30, 2010, at 5:08 PM, Jessica Rosner wrote: As a practical matter Swank really can't license for more than one academic year. This is what I have been trying to explain re studio product. I think is is very unlikely they will ever allow Swank, Criterion Pictures ( Fox films) or even themselves to license for more than a year. Anything is possible but I would not hold my breath. Similarly most independent and foreign films are likely to be able to license for say 1-7 years because 7 years is the standard contract term though some go up to 10 or more, however the clock starts ticking when the contract is signed so a film released in 2005 is likely only to have 2 years of licensing life left. In many cases these films are renewed, but in many cases they are not and a whole lot of companies go out of business these days leaving a lot of films in limbo. The Swank scenario may be more restrictive in terms of use than some, but for fiction feature films, most are going to be time limited and few available in perpetuity unless it is put into new contracts from
Re: [Videolib] Swank Digital Campus
Reserve books are inventoriable...they presumably get cataloged and become part of the library's collection, no? gary Hi Kim, I guess I disagree with Gary. Short term access to resources for classes is something we've provided for forever in Reserve Services here at the University of Connecticut. Historically that was books but now we've grown to journal articles, full text links to journals and ebooks, personal copies, and now streaming video and audio. We've used Swank for a couple of semesters now. They are expensive but we apply the same criteria to obtaining Swank streams as we do for other streams. e.g. when one or more of the following conditions arise: used for more than one class in more than one semester, used at a regional campus where students are non-resident, and to support distance learning and blended classes. Although nowhere near half of our streams come from Swank, our data shows that about half of what's put on Reserve are feature films. In answer to your original questions. The Library is responsible for the transaction and our name is on the invoice. We also pay for the stream. And, no, once explained to them, faculty understand the short term duration of the access. There are other departments who help faculty develop online courses but since our library has so much valuable content which already license and can be used for online courses (e.g. ejournals, ebooks, newspapers, images, etc.), the provision of moving image streams is a very natural addition to content provision. I might add that it is not just online courses which benefit from e-whatever. Blended courses and even traditional courses also benefit. Jo Ann Jo Ann Reynolds Reserve Services Coordinator University of Connecticut Homer Babbidge Library Storrs, CT 860-486-1406 jo_ann.reyno...@uconn.edu Question Reality -Original Message- From: videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu [mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of ghand...@library.berkeley.edu Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2010 4:17 PM To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Subject: Re: [Videolib] Swank Digital Campus Hey Kim As you know, this is one of the many things that gets me seeing crimson. I am categorically NOT one of those librarian types that refuses to let go of traditional function or to embrace new...but: I can see no justification whatsoever for libraries getting into the business of picking up the tab for short term/ephemeral access...it simply doesn't make sense to me--certainly not from a budgetary standpoint. Libraries acquire, organize, catalog...physical or not, the stuff we acquire has always been inventoriable...and that's the way it should be, in my book. Support of short-term, course-specific access belongs elsewhere, unless campus is willing to beef up your budget sufficiently... If this were to develop on my campus, I'd most definitely foist it off on our Sakai wonks (Educational Technology Services)--the folks who develop, manage, and maintain classroom technologies and resources. That's where it belongs. Gary Handman Hi all, I think we're about to license our first streaming film through Swank Digital Campus. The usage scenario is so different from what I normally deal with. Typically, my library licenses individual films from distributers for use by all current student faculty, for a term ranging from 3 years to perpetuity and we stream the content from a library-run server and management system. The Swank content would be license for 1 semester, would only be accessible to a specific class and would be hosted off-site. I'm trying to figure out what my library's role should be in the Swank scenario. If you've used Swank Digital Campus at your institution (or deal with other short term/ course specific digital rights), could you tell me how this was handled. * Who is responsible for the transaction - i.e whose name is on the contract/ invoice? The Library, the academic department, the faculty member, another campus group? * Who directly pays for the content? * If both of the above were handled by the library, was there any resistance to this sort of short term, limited access being the library's responsibility? * Is there another department on your campus that more directly supports development and resources for online courses? What was their involvement? Thanks! Kim Stanton Head, Media Library University of North Texas kim.stan...@unt.edu P: (940) 565-4832 F: (940) 369-7396 VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel
Re: [Videolib] Swank Digital Campus
Thank you, Elizabeth for this clarity. I had been told the same thing from Criterion, in Canada. However, many of the distributors who have digital rights do not uphold this belief. They tell us that they cannot license beyond their agreement with the rights' holder. I've often brought up the DVD sold with perpetual use as the parallel with digital or streaming rights. If they can sell the DVD for its physical life, they should be able to sell the streaming rights with the same condition. Alas, they don't seem to accept it. Or, do you think I'm being sold a bill of goods on that? I know Dennis has mentioned that a digital file can be converted to other streaming standards. to clarify, we cannot convert an MPEG 4 file to whatever the next standard is, can we? Would that not be a new version, and therefore require new permission, and perhaps a payment? Susan Elizabeth Sheldon wrote: For clarity, unless a contract between a filmmaker and a distributor specifies that the distributor may not grant licenses that extend beyond the original Term of the contract, a distributor may license a film for any given period of time during the original license period. For example, if a contract was signed in 2005 for a seven year term, a distributor could grant licenses that extend ten years beyond, or even, in perpetuity. The right to grant licenses expires in 2012, not the licenses granted to the end user. For example, a PPR license is for the life of the DVD. Even if the distributor only has seven years to grant PPR licenses to customers, the customer's license does not end when the distributor's contract ends. Likewise with digital site licenses, it is for the term of the digital site license agreed to between the institution and the distributor. Unless there are underlying rights issues and/or a clause that limits the term of a license to a certain period beyond the end of the original contract, there is no reason for a distributor not to offer a digital site license in perpetuity. From a legal point of view. Best, Elizabeth Elizabeth Sheldon Vice President Kino Lorber, Inc. 333 W. 39th St., Suite 503 New York, NY 10018 (212) 629-6880 www.kinolorberedu.com On Sep 30, 2010, at 5:08 PM, Jessica Rosner wrote: As a practical matter Swank really can't license for more than one academic year. This is what I have been trying to explain re studio product. I think is is very unlikely they will ever allow Swank, Criterion Pictures ( Fox films) or even themselves to license for more than a year. Anything is possible but I would not hold my breath. Similarly most independent and foreign films are likely to be able to license for say 1-7 years because 7 years is the standard contract term though some go up to 10 or more, however the clock starts ticking when the contract is signed so a film released in 2005 is likely only to have 2 years of licensing life left. In many cases these films are renewed, but in many cases they are not and a whole lot of companies go out of business these days leaving a lot of films in limbo. The Swank scenario may be more restrictive in terms of use than some, but for fiction feature films, most are going to be time limited and few available in perpetuity unless it is put into new contracts from now on and again I would not hold my breath for that. Jessica On Thu, Sep 30, 2010 at 3:40 PM, Stanton, Kim kim.stan...@unt.edu wrote: Hi all, I think were about to license our first streaming film through Swank Digital Campus. The usage scenario is so different from what I normally deal with. Typically, my library licenses individual films from distributers for use by all current student faculty, for a term ranging from 3 years to perpetuity and we stream the content from a library-run server and management system. The Swank content would be license for 1 semester, would only be accessible to a specific class and would be hosted off-site. Im trying to figure out what my librarys role should be in the Swank scenario. If youve used Swank Digital Campus at your institution (or deal with other short term/ course specific digital rights), could you tell me how this was handled. Who is responsible for the transaction i.e whose name is on the contract/ invoice? The Library, the academic department, the faculty member, another campus group? Who directly pays for the content? If both of the above were handled by the library, was there any resistance to this sort of short term, limited access being the librarys responsibility? Is there another department on your campus that more directly supports development and resources for online courses? What was their involvement? Thanks! Kim Stanton Head, Media Library University of North Texas kim.stan...@unt.edu P: (940) 565-4832 F: (940) 369-7396 VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage
Re: [Videolib] Swank Digital Campus
Hey Kim As you know, this is one of the many things that gets me seeing crimson. I am categorically NOT one of those librarian types that refuses to let go of traditional function or to embrace new...but: I can see no justification whatsoever for libraries getting into the business of picking up the tab for short term/ephemeral access...it simply doesn't make sense to me--certainly not from a budgetary standpoint. Libraries acquire, organize, catalog...physical or not, the stuff we acquire has always been inventoriable...and that's the way it should be, in my book. Support of short-term, course-specific access belongs elsewhere, unless campus is willing to beef up your budget sufficiently... If this were to develop on my campus, I'd most definitely foist it off on our Sakai wonks (Educational Technology Services)--the folks who develop, manage, and maintain classroom technologies and resources. That's where it belongs. Gary Handman Hi all, I think we're about to license our first streaming film through Swank Digital Campus. The usage scenario is so different from what I normally deal with. Typically, my library licenses individual films from distributers for use by all current student faculty, for a term ranging from 3 years to perpetuity and we stream the content from a library-run server and management system. The Swank content would be license for 1 semester, would only be accessible to a specific class and would be hosted off-site. I'm trying to figure out what my library's role should be in the Swank scenario. If you've used Swank Digital Campus at your institution (or deal with other short term/ course specific digital rights), could you tell me how this was handled. * Who is responsible for the transaction - i.e whose name is on the contract/ invoice? The Library, the academic department, the faculty member, another campus group? * Who directly pays for the content? * If both of the above were handled by the library, was there any resistance to this sort of short term, limited access being the library's responsibility? * Is there another department on your campus that more directly supports development and resources for online courses? What was their involvement? Thanks! Kim Stanton Head, Media Library University of North Texas kim.stan...@unt.edu P: (940) 565-4832 F: (940) 369-7396 VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors. Gary Handman Director Media Resources Center Moffitt Library UC Berkeley 510-643-8566 ghand...@library.berkeley.edu http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC I have always preferred the reflection of life to life itself. --Francois Truffaut VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
Re: [Videolib] Swank Digital Campus
As a practical matter Swank really can't license for more than one academic year. This is what I have been trying to explain re studio product. I think is is very unlikely they will ever allow Swank, Criterion Pictures ( Fox films) or even themselves to license for more than a year. Anything is possible but I would not hold my breath. Similarly most independent and foreign films are likely to be able to license for say 1-7 years because 7 years is the standard contract term though some go up to 10 or more, however the clock starts ticking when the contract is signed so a film released in 2005 is likely only to have 2 years of licensing life left. In many cases these films are renewed, but in many cases they are not and a whole lot of companies go out of business these days leaving a lot of films in limbo. The Swank scenario may be more restrictive in terms of use than some, but for fiction feature films, most are going to be time limited and few available in perpetuity unless it is put into new contracts from now on and again I would not hold my breath for that. Jessica On Thu, Sep 30, 2010 at 3:40 PM, Stanton, Kim kim.stan...@unt.edu wrote: Hi all, I think we’re about to license our first streaming film through Swank Digital Campus. The usage scenario is so different from what I normally deal with. Typically, my library licenses individual films from distributers for use by all current student faculty, for a term ranging from 3 years to perpetuity and we stream the content from a library-run server and management system. The Swank content would be license for 1 semester, would only be accessible to a specific class and would be hosted off-site. I’m trying to figure out what my library’s role should be in the Swank scenario. If you’ve used Swank Digital Campus at your institution (or deal with other short term/ course specific digital rights), could you tell me how this was handled. · Who is responsible for the transaction – i.e whose name is on the contract/ invoice? The Library, the academic department, the faculty member, another campus group? · Who directly pays for the content? · If both of the above were handled by the library, was there any resistance to this sort of short term, limited access being the library’s responsibility? · Is there another department on your campus that more directly supports development and resources for online courses? What was their involvement? Thanks! Kim Stanton Head, Media Library University of North Texas kim.stan...@unt.edu P: (940) 565-4832 F: (940) 369-7396 VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors. VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
Re: [Videolib] Swank Digital Campus
We have been using this service for a little over a year, as a supplement to our more traditional video reserve services. We have a large number of on-site and online courses using film, as well as a very large commuter student population. Providing selected films online provides an additional service for course support. Sure, in many cases students can rent the films, and we typically have copies of the films on reserve or in the circulating stacks as well. Currently, this service is supported by funds from the student technology fees. This was proposed and approved by committees that represented students, faculty, the Library, Instructional Technology, etc. We are still testing and tweaking a year in. Please see my responses to your specific questions below. Rue McKenzie Coordinator of Media Collections Academic Resources University of South Florida Library 4202 Fowler Ave., LIB122 Tampa, FL 33620 813-974-6342 From: videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu [mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of Stanton, Kim Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2010 3:41 PM To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Subject: [Videolib] Swank Digital Campus Hi all, I think we're about to license our first streaming film through Swank Digital Campus. The usage scenario is so different from what I normally deal with. Typically, my library licenses individual films from distributers for use by all current student faculty, for a term ranging from 3 years to perpetuity and we stream the content from a library-run server and management system. The Swank content would be license for 1 semester, would only be accessible to a specific class and would be hosted off-site. I'm trying to figure out what my library's role should be in the Swank scenario. If you've used Swank Digital Campus at your institution (or deal with other short term/ course specific digital rights), could you tell me how this was handled. * Who is responsible for the transaction - i.e whose name is on the contract/ invoice? The Library, the academic department, the faculty member, another campus group? -- We (the Library) are handling this. The licensing/invoicing is coordinated by me (with assistance from our Electronic Resources Coordinator), and the actual scheduling of the specific titles is handled by one staff person (who until recently was the sole point person for media reserves). * Who directly pays for the content? - As I mentioned, right now the content is paid for by funds provided through our Student Technology Fee. This service is part of a larger effort to increase access to online video content, although 95% of what we have been adding is in perpetuity. * If both of the above were handled by the library, was there any resistance to this sort of short term, limited access being the library's responsibility? --Well, it does add an additional layer to our already overtaxed reserve processes. And, it has required some additional communication with faculty regarding the guidelines. It also requires faculty to think a bit differently regarding the timeframe these titles are being placed on reserve. There is more specificity required in order for the rotation of titles to work as effectively as possible. We try to provide approximately different 25 titles each month, but sometimes titles stay available longer. There are a couple of ways to set up the service depending upon what your institution needs. The service has worked great for many faculty, and for a few it ended up not providing what they needed. No one here in the Library has shown any resistance to the added responsibility, since the only ones really effected are the two of us handling the service on this end. * Is there another department on your campus that more directly supports development and resources for online courses? What was their involvement? -- Separate from the Swank service, when it comes to online video content that the Library wants to acquire for permanent or long-term access, we pretty much have had to handle the majority of processes ourselves, which can at times include (in addition to handling the licensing/invoicing processes) extracting the content from DVDs, encoding that content (or encoding MPEG4 files provided by vendors), uploading the content to a secure on-site server, and performing all the other typical stuff like cataloging, etc. Again, some of this is being funded by the student technology fees, but that funding is finite (hence the focus on permanent additions to the collections). When these funds end, we'll have to see. In all honesty, we did originally plan to have more support from Instructional Technology, but things changed very early on (but after the Library was committed to move forward developing this collection utilizing these funds). I will admit that what we are doing right now cannot be maintained
Re: [Videolib] Swank Digital Campus
For clarity, unless a contract between a filmmaker and a distributor specifies that the distributor may not grant licenses that extend beyond the original Term of the contract, a distributor may license a film for any given period of time during the original license period. For example, if a contract was signed in 2005 for a seven year term, a distributor could grant licenses that extend ten years beyond, or even, in perpetuity. The right to grant licenses expires in 2012, not the licenses granted to the end user. For example, a PPR license is for the life of the DVD. Even if the distributor only has seven years to grant PPR licenses to customers, the customer's license does not end when the distributor's contract ends. Likewise with digital site licenses, it is for the term of the digital site license agreed to between the institution and the distributor. Unless there are underlying rights issues and/or a clause that limits the term of a license to a certain period beyond the end of the original contract, there is no reason for a distributor not to offer a digital site license in perpetuity. From a legal point of view. Best, Elizabeth Elizabeth Sheldon Vice President Kino Lorber, Inc. 333 W. 39th St., Suite 503 New York, NY 10018 (212) 629-6880 www.kinolorberedu.com On Sep 30, 2010, at 5:08 PM, Jessica Rosner wrote: As a practical matter Swank really can't license for more than one academic year. This is what I have been trying to explain re studio product. I think is is very unlikely they will ever allow Swank, Criterion Pictures ( Fox films) or even themselves to license for more than a year. Anything is possible but I would not hold my breath. Similarly most independent and foreign films are likely to be able to license for say 1-7 years because 7 years is the standard contract term though some go up to 10 or more, however the clock starts ticking when the contract is signed so a film released in 2005 is likely only to have 2 years of licensing life left. In many cases these films are renewed, but in many cases they are not and a whole lot of companies go out of business these days leaving a lot of films in limbo. The Swank scenario may be more restrictive in terms of use than some, but for fiction feature films, most are going to be time limited and few available in perpetuity unless it is put into new contracts from now on and again I would not hold my breath for that. Jessica On Thu, Sep 30, 2010 at 3:40 PM, Stanton, Kim kim.stan...@unt.edu wrote: Hi all, I think we’re about to license our first streaming film through Swank Digital Campus. The usage scenario is so different from what I normally deal with. Typically, my library licenses individual films from distributers for use by all current student faculty, for a term ranging from 3 years to perpetuity and we stream the content from a library-run server and management system. The Swank content would be license for 1 semester, would only be accessible to a specific class and would be hosted off-site. I’m trying to figure out what my library’s role should be in the Swank scenario. If you’ve used Swank Digital Campus at your institution (or deal with other short term/ course specific digital rights), could you tell me how this was handled. · Who is responsible for the transaction – i.e whose name is on the contract/ invoice? The Library, the academic department, the faculty member, another campus group? · Who directly pays for the content? · If both of the above were handled by the library, was there any resistance to this sort of short term, limited access being the library’s responsibility? · Is there another department on your campus that more directly supports development and resources for online courses? What was their involvement? Thanks! Kim Stanton Head, Media Library University of North Texas kim.stan...@unt.edu P: (940) 565-4832 F: (940) 369-7396 VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors. VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between
