[Ecommerce] b2b contract with provision on users' information

[Manon Ress]

In the "there's no such thing as a free lunch" category, an example of 
b2b contract that impact consumers/users rights.
Manon

in RAIN:
Independent record label Artemis Records, home to artists like Graham 
Nash, Warren Zevon, the Josh Joplin Group, Rickie Lee Jones, and Steve 
Earle, has announced it will waive webcasting royalty fees for their 
music for one year.

The waiver contract is available for viewing and downloading from the 
label's website here: http://www.kurthanson.com/index.asp

[RAIN Analysis]
This is directly from the contract:
"8. Company shall maintain a comprehensive database of all public 
performances of the Masters transmitted hereunder and all ephemeral 
recordings of the Masters created hereunder. Such information, along 
with aggregate information regarding users of the Site, shall be 
provided to Artemis upon request (but in no event more than one time per 
week). The parties acknowledge that all such information is the joint 
property of the parties hereto."

So, Artemis expects: (1) "census reporting" (as opposed to "sampling") 
for recordkeeping, if we're to take the word "comprehensive" literally; 
(2) a record of ephemeral recordings, a request of record labels that 
the Librarian of Congress seems to have pretty strongly rejected; (3) 
user information, which even the RIAA has dropped as a demand; and (4) 
joint ownership of the valuable database of listener habits you build 
with your business.


-- 
Manon Anne Ress
Essential Information
www.essential.org
PO Box 19405, Washington, DC 20036
mress@essential.org, voice: 1.202.387.8030, fax: 1.202.234.5176