Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Best,
Ann
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ann Dubensky
Online Services Associate
(MatchBook.org and CultureCount)
nefa
NEW ENGLAND FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS
145 Tremont St.
Seventh Floor
Boston, MA 02111
tel 617.951.0010 x515
fax 617.951.0016
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mackenzie Andersen [mailto:mackenzie@andersenstudio.com]
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 9:51 AM
To: Dubensky, Ann
Cc: _foia@nea.gov
Subject:
Dear Ann,
In
the year 2007, I was browsing the Internet, when I came upon The New
England Cultural Database and I proceeded to add the information about
our small ceramic craft and design business.
First
however, I clicked on the Terms of Agreement . I have added our listing
to many online databases, but never before have I been required to sign
a terms of agreement in order to do so. When I read the specifics of
this Terms of Agreement, I was shocked. The Terms of agreement grants
NECD all rights, to published material listed in the database, for all
time, anywhere in the world. It also requires that the user agree to
never make a legal claim against NECD for any reason what-so-ever. All
the while the NECD was touting itself as the model for the entire United
States of America.
I
wrote the The Maine Arts Commission but received a rhetorical response
but no changes, other than the "partner site", then called "Cultural
Logic"- a name shared with an online Marxist publication, has been
changed to "Community Logic"- but the content of the terms of agreement
has not changed- nor has the small handful of listings in my local area
increased- and why would it? Who, after reading that terms of agreement
would agree to them? And for what? A listing in a database which is
available without signing a terms of agreement all over the web-
including the state-run Arts Commissions, who offer many of the services
that NECD touts for free and without a User terms of Agreement.
NEA
is not listed as one of NECD's funders - but NECD has been developed by
NEFA and NEA is a major funder of NEFA- and so American taxpayer
dollars are paying for the development of NECD through dollars flowing
through The National Endowment for the Arts.
Can
you explain why The United States taxpayer is paying for a data
collecting organization with such an unacceptable Terms of Agreement
between the central organization and the individual user?
Can
you identify who is responsible for creating the Terms of Agreement and
who is responsible for leaving it in place, all these years?
Sincerely,
Mackenzie Andersen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: Schneidman, Dee
To: mackenzie@andersenstudio.com
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 11:30 AM
Subject: Re: Can you please send me more information on Culture Count.
Dear Ms. Andersen,
I
was made aware of your concerns about the CultureCount (then the NECD)
Terms of Use back in the summer of 2007 through the Maine Arts
Commission and consulted the attorney who had created the Terms to
address them each carefully. Though the Maine Arts Commission responded
to you at that time via e-mail, I would be happy to discuss any
continued misgivings you may have about our free website – and hopefully
untangle any misunderstandings.
Please
feel free to email me at this address with a list of concerns that I
can read through, or call me at my phone number below to discuss “in
person.”
Best regards,
Dee
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dee Schneidman
Research Manager
nefa
NEW ENGLAND FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS
145 Tremont St.
Seventh Floor
Boston, MA 02111
tel 617.951.0010 x530
fax 617.951.0016
www.nefa.org
CultureCount: New England's Cultural Database
Because culture counts.
www.culturecount.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mackenzie Andersen [mailto:mackenzie@andersenstudio.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 10:56 PM
To: Schneidman, Dee
Subject: Re: Can you please send me more information on Culture Count.
Dear Dee,
Would you agree to such a terms of agreement?
Mackenzie Andersen
----- Original Message -----
From: Schneidman, Dee
To: Mackenzie Andersen
Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 9:26 AM
Subject: RE: Can you please send me more information on Culture Count.
Dear Ms. Andersen,
If you could list the concerns for me that prompt you to say “such a terms of agreement”, I’d be happy to respond.
Best,
Dee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mackenzie Andersen [mailto:mackenzie@andersenstudio.com]
Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 10:56 AM
To: Schneidman, Dee
Subject: Re: Can you please send me more information on Culture Count.
Dear Dee,
Since you are the organization who has the Terms of Agreement, I am surprised that you are not more familiar with it.
However , for starters, there is the following paragraph:
8.
License. By submitting any content to Our site, You grant to Us a
perpetual, unlimited, irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive,
assignable, and worldwide license, to make, copy, perform, publish,
display, distribute, transmit, translate, modify, prepare derivative
works and use the content in other works in any form, media, or
technology now known or hereinafter developed for the full term of any
rights that may exist in that content. You also agree to waive and never
assert any moral rights that You may have in the content submitted to
Us.
Would you sign a Terms of Agreement that includes such terms?- and if you agree to this - would you submit content?
Respectfully,
Mackenzie Andersen
----- Original Message -----
From: Schneidman, Dee
To: Mackenzie Andersen
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 11:30 AM
Subject: RE: Can you please send me more information on Culture Count.
Dear Ms. Andersen,
While
our attorney created the Terms to be as broad a license grant as
possible, NEFA at no time claims ownership in the artist’s content. The
only information that is given (by artist or organization) is listed in
the Privacy Policy: “Your organization's name, street address, postal
address, website address, e-mail address (for general inquiries), year
founded, year terminated or dissolved (if applicable), a brief
description of Your organization, and the director's or manager's
name.” While this is content, it’s content which is publicly available
from other sources--and voluntarily provided by the user--there is
little (if any) actual copyright in this content. All of the
[CultureCount] information is factual in nature. Copyright only
protects creative expression. While a user’s description of its
organization does have some copyright attached to it, I believe it would
be quite minimal in most circumstances (especially if only the “basics”
were included).
One
value of CultureCount is that it is a New England wide directory for
the Creative Economy. It consolidates information from various sources
(like the National Endowment for the Arts and New England state arts
agencies) that is public and available to anyone to make it more
accessible to arts researchers and advocates. Anyone on the web can view
content in the database without having to create an account. An artist
does need to create an account to be included in the directory, but can
omit any personal information (like their address) so that they can be
counted in the Creative Economy directory. NEFA takes its mission “to
creatively support the movement of people, ideas, and resources in the
arts within New England and beyond, make vital connections between
artists and communities, and build the strength, knowledge, and
leadership of the region's creative sector” very seriously and is proud
of the free information and service that we provide to support and
advocate for artists.
I
hope this clears up any misunderstanding and I would be happy to help
if you would like to add yourself to the directory. Remember, you would
only be adding information about your creative business – no artistic
content at all. (You can look at multiple samples of artist listings if
you go to culturecount.org and search for individual artist under
Institution type.)
Best,
Dee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mackenzie Andersen [mailto:mackenzie@andersenstudio.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 11:58 AM
To: Schneidman, Dee
Subject: Re: Can you please send me more information on Culture Count.
However
your terms of Agreement says otherwise and when one makes a legal
agreement one is conditioned to the letter of that agreement as written.
External interpretations about the meaning of the written agreement do
not hold up in a court of law- and perhaps also, not the agreement - or
so I though in 2007 - but the world has changed so radically in 2009
that I can no longer be sure that the unconstitutional statements in the
NECD agreement would not be upheld in the new government order being
created as we speak.
I
would never take the risk of signing such an agreement just to be
listed in a database- which are available all over the internet- without
terms of agreement- including the sources that you use- state
government sponsored art commissions.
You
have not answered my question- if you would agree to these terms- nor
have you offered an explanation as to why the quoted paragraph is in the
terms of Agreement. There has to be a reason for its inclusion.
In fact , Your response is clearly a second generation copy of something that is generally distributed.
Mackenzie Andersen
----- Original Message -----
From: Schneidman, Dee
To: Mackenzie Andersen
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 1:28 PM
Subject: RE: Can you please send me more information on Culture Count.
Dear Ms. Andersen,
My
response was a thought-out message from me – certainly with information
that I have learned from our attorney. I am a staff person at an
organization diligently trying to answer your questions in a personal
way and I’m not sure what would suggest otherwise. The legal agreement
does not make any claims to artist content. Artist content is not
included anywhere on the CultureCount site. This is not interpretation,
but fact. As to whether anything is unconstitutional, as you state, I
defer again to legal experts on that.
I
did answer your question – the paragraph referenced was included by our
attorney to grant as broad a license as possible. The terms have not
been changed within the past few years, though we take concerns like
yours very seriously. Should we find the funds to embark on such an
endeavor, we may consider changing them, but at this point it is
certainly not possible.
I
would never offer to help you create your own directory listing unless I
were willing to do one myself. I sincerely do not understand why you
would think NEFA would embark on providing this information to our
constituents with some sort of malicious intent. Being in the database
is obviously your choice and the terms of agreement is to protect all
parties involved.
If you would like to discuss anything further you are welcome to call me at 617-951-0010 x530.
Thank you,
Dee
AFTERNOTE:
Dee Schneidman is essentially claiming that all NECD is collecting are names and addresses. If that is the case,then for what reason does one have to agree to such a long list of terms merely to list one's name and address in a data base? At the point I came across the data base, I was already listed in many online directories and had never once been required to sign a terms of agreement, let alone one with such statements as this one.
Either Dee has never read the Terms of Agreement herself or she is intentionally underplaying the claims to ownership over content that it makes. Paragraph 7 grants NEFA the right to "deep link" to any of the sites listed in the database while specifically stating that that right is not mutual. The only page the user can link to is the Culture Count Home Page. Since I did not add my name to the directory and did not agree to such terms I did not forfeit my right to link to their online terms of agreement, which I would have forfeited by adding my name and address to their directory.
7. Linking and Framing. You agree not to bypass or attempt to bypass the home page of Our site and “deep link” to any other page in Our website, or frame Our content within another website or copy, or use it in another medium without Our express written permission. You hereby give Us the right, however, to create a deep link to certain pages on Your website for the purpose of offering access to content that We, in Our sole discretion, determine to be appropriate for the CultureCount™ site.
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