The University makes use of many electronic resources - software and information resources - under negotiated licenses. Licenses are contracts under state law; therefore University processes for contract approval must be used when initiating licenses.
Software Licenses
Software Licenses Required on University Computers
The University adheres to sound business practice in the execution of software licenses. Compliance with the terms of software licenses is the responsibility of staff within the organizational unit where each computer resides. Responsibilities include:
The University of Kansas endorses and supports the statement of principles http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/html/code.html issued by EDUCOM, a non-profit consortium of colleges and universities, and ADAPSO, the computer software and services industry association.
For more information on purchasing software site licenses, please contact Paul Geisler, IT Licensing Specialist (864-0383 or pgeisler@ku.edu ).
Licenses for Electronic Information
The University Libraries negotiates license agreements for information resources available to the campus community. In general, the library attempts to offer the community the same usage rights as would be afforded by the Fair Use provisions of U.S. copyright law. Campus users are encouraged to learn about license terms of the resources they use on a regular basis. See the University Libraries website for more information or contact Richard Fyffe, Assistant Dean for Scholarly Communication (864-4611 or rfyffe@ku.edu.)
Click-on Licenses
In the course of their official duties, University faculty and staff may be presented with so-called “click-on” licenses before they can access certain online resources. In these cases, acceptance of the information providers' terms is indicated by clicking on a button labeled "I agree" (or similar language).
There are two types of click-on licenses.
One type commits the individual user to terms that govern which uses of the resources are permitted by an underlying license. Behind these agreements, invisible to the user, is a much more extensive license executed by the University, including many additional terms, and legally committing the University to those terms. Formal acceptance of such licenses occurs only after thorough review by the appropriate University unit and the University's General Counsel, almost always resulting in modifications to the license to protect our legal and business interests.
In the second type of click-on license, a complete institutional license may be presented in clickable form. This creates the potential for any member of the faculty and staff unwittingly to commit the University to the binding terms of the license without the protections provided by a review process. With the promise of immediate access, you will be asked for your name, position, and institution, and you will be asked to commit the institution to the terms of the license. Because a license is a contract, only persons authorized to sign contracts for the University1 can commit the University to click-on institutional license agreements.
If you have questions concerning a click-on license, please contact copyright@ku.edu .
1 Section II,B,8(b)(4) of the Board of Regents Policy and Procedures Manual specifically authorizes only the Chancellor and his designees to execute contracts on behalf of the University. The Chancellor annually notifies those individuals to whom authority has been delegated to execute contracts.
