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STHC-L: The Science, Technology and Health Care Archives Forum
[Previous Posting] [Next Posting] FW: [saaleaderlist] Smithsonian/Corbis Agreement
Dear STHC Colleagues, SAA has forwarded correspondence between Elizabeth Atkins, SAA President, and the Smithsonian Institution regarding the partnership between Smithsonian Business Ventures and Corbis on digitizing images. Janice Goldblum STHC Co-Chair From: saaleaderlist-owner@lists.archivists.org [mailto:saaleaderlist-owner@lists.archivists.org] On Behalf Of Nancy Beaumont Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2007 11:41 AM To: saaleaderlist@lists.archivists.org Subject: [saaleaderlist] Smithsonian/Corbis Agreement Sent on behalf of SAA President Elizabeth Adkins: SAA sent the following letter to then-Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small on January 31, to express our concern regarding their announced agreement to work with Corbis on digitizing images: January 31, 2007 The Honorable Lawrence M. Small Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1000 Jefferson Drive, SW Washington, DC 20560 Dear Secretary Small: I write on behalf of the Society of American Archivists, which represents more than 4,800 archivists nationwide, regarding the most recent commercial partnership launched by Smithsonian Business Ventures – this time with Corbis for photographic images. We are aware, of course, that the Smithsonian has signed exclusive contracts with HarperCollins for books and with Showtime for video. (Unfortunately, we are not aware of the details of those contracts, as they have not been made publicly available.) This latest venture further heightens our concern about the increasing commercialization of the Smithsonian’s public programs, as materials donated to the public or acquired with public funds are used in exclusive arrangements that disenfranchise those who are unable to afford the cost of using images in print and other media. - Will this contract be released to the public? If not, would you respond to the following questions about the contract? - What is its length? - Is it exclusive in nature? To what percentage of Smithsonian images will it be applicable? - Will a fee apply for all licensing of these photographs? - On what basis will the Smithsonian be reimbursed by Corbis for the license granted? - Will any distinction be made, as is currently the case in Smithsonian units, between personal/educational use and "commercial" use of images? We look forward to your response. Sincerely, [signature] Elizabeth W. Adkins, CA President, 2006-2007 We recently received the attached reply. The SAA Council reviewed the reply and we feel that it allays our main concern, in that the letter states that the Corbis agreement is not an exclusive one. We thought that SAA leaders would be interested in the details contained in the letter. [[Smithsonian-Letter-Scan.pdf]] Elizabeth W. Adkins, CA Director, Global Information Management Ford Motor Company ____________________________________________________________ STHC-L - Science, Technology, and Health Care Archives Forum STHC-L@lists.ucla.edu http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sthc-l STHC-L@lists.ucla.edu STHC-L Archives -- Main Index STHC-L Archives -- 2007 Message Index |