from Robin Murphy---
 
>I've been wondering how the Getty project fits into this. Seems as
>though the standards are already set and we are seeing a split
>forming between academic and public education use of museum
>resources.
 
I'm not sure what Robin means "seems as though the standards are already
set".  Standards for what?  For leasing or selling rights to the use of
museum images to commerical concerns (Continuum, Luna, etc.)?  As Tara
Robinson said in an earlier posting, most museums know not to sell
exclusive rights.  There are a number of good articles on the legal issues,
notably, in the 1993 ICHIM (International Conference on Hypermedia and
Interactivity in Museums) proceedings, in the 1994 ALI-ABA (Legal Issues in
Museum Management) proceedings, and in Spectra (fall 1993, v. 21 No. 2,
and, spring 1994, v.21 No.4).
 
Also, we should all be taking a careful look at the two MUSE projects.  One
has to do with a CDROM licensing agreement; the other, a carefully
shepherded project between museums and colleges/universities which enables
the participating universities to use selected images from participating
museums.   We should be hearing more about the success of the latter
project in the near future.  With respect to the former, the contract has
been given a very close reading by a respected member of the SI legal team.
  It was also discussed at the last MCN meeting in Washington.
 
Suzanne Quigley
Detroit Institute of Arts
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