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Update on membership and Intellectual Property
(IP)
For those that may not be aware, the recent Annual General
Meeting had a substantial focus on proposed resolutions for
a new membership structure. In addition, there was some clarification
of the Intellectual Property (IP) policy and changes to the
sub-licencing arrangements.
Following lengthy discussion, over two thirds of the members
voted to endorse plans to:
- amend the Membership Terms and Conditions to
separate Membership rights from Licencing rights
- create an IP Policy for contributions made to Working
Groups by Members and other participants
- develop and implement an amended End User Licence
Agreement with fees that vary with Packages and Tiers; and
removing the right to sub-licence.
To ensure that members have the opportunity to raise any
questions prior to implementation on the 1st of February 2007,
the following timetable has been adopted:
- Thursday 7 December 2006: draft versions of the
new Membership Terms and Conditions, the End User Licence
Agreement and IP Policy will be distributed to all Members.
- Thursday 7 December – Friday 15 December 2006:
this will be the period for Member comments on the Draft
documents. All comments will be via a dedicated email list
(see below for information).
- Wednesday 20 December 2006: revised Drafts circulated
to Members with a final call for comments.
- Wednesday 20 December – Friday 12 January 2007: revised versions of the documents circulated for the purpose
of soliciting final comments.
- Wednesday 17 January 2006: final versions of all
the documents will be circulated.
- Monday 22 January 2007: the Licensing
Application, the Self Assessment Form and the Membership
Application Forms available from LIXI website.
- Thursday 1 February 2007: the application forms will
be due and LIXI will commence issuing End User Licence Agreements.
From 1 January until 1 March 2007, LIXI will allow members
to continue to operate under their existing licences, however
after that the new End User Licence Agreements will replace
the existing licences.
The Board encourages all members to review and comment on
the Drafts and will endeavour to address all concerns. In particular,
we invite members to comment on the distinction between parties
who must obtain a Licence from LIXI and those who are not required
to do so. The removal of the general right to sub-licence was
a contentious issue at the AGM and the Board is keen to ensure
that everyone’s business models and commercial arrangements
are taken into account.
The Board will ensure that the spirit and intention of the
new membership and licencing regime is reflected in the legal
agreements.
Please see the special page that
we have set up on the LIXI website for the relevant documents.
The dedicated discussion group can be accessed by emailing
info@lixi.org.au with your details.
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