MERLOT Web Services and Related Software Agreement

MERLOT’s goal is to meet the needs of MERLOT community members who wish to search and use MERLOT metadata from within their own application while protecting the needs of the MERLOT project.   We require that an authorized representative of your organization agree to the terms of this Agreement before MERLOT provides a license key or authorizes you to deploy or use its Web Services and/or Related Software (WSRS). In general, this agreement concerns the use of MERLOT Web Services and/or Related Software (WSRS). Organizations other than non-profits seeking information regarding special terms and conditions for the use of MERLOT's Web Services and/or Related Software (WSRS) will be subject to license fees that can be obtained by going to http://taste.merlot.org/MERLOTWebServices.html#requestakey.

This Agreement applies to both:

• Developers wishing to deploy WSRS within an application or a Learning Management System (LMSs)
• Those wishing to use their own applications.

This Agreement:

• Provides access to MERLOT Web Services and/or Related Software (WSRS) from the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) project for exclusive use from within users’ applications. 
• Allows for customizing the look and feel of MERLOT metadata from within developers’ own applications, subject to the terms of this Agreement.
• Allows MERLOT to keep track of access to the MERLOT WSRS and technical contacts in order to coordinate and provide technical updates.
• Allows all MERLOT WSRS users to share lessons learned from using MERLOT WSRS.
• Protects against the development of unauthorized commercial products and services using MERLOT metadata or derivatives of it, subject to the terms of this Agreement.
• Prevents the use of the MERLOT metadata or derivatives of it to create competing initiatives to MERLOT.
• Requires that assigned keys only be used on the Organization, Institution or Campus servers identified on the Web Service License request form.
• Applies to all users of the Organization, Institution or Campus that obtains Web Services keys.

WSRS Use Agreement

By agreeing to the terms of this WSRS Use Agreement, and subject to MERLOT’s Acceptable Use Agreement, MERLOT grants a non-exclusive, limited license to use the MERLOT WSRS.  The terms of this Agreement apply to both developers who deploy the WSRS and users who use the deployed WSRS.

• Deployment:  Developers agree:
  
  
• To enable access to the WSRS only through a key generation process defined and managed by MERLOT.
  
  
• To not 'harvest' in any manner, any data secured through these web services nor to collect them for the purposes of creating or using them in a searchable repository of materials or members that is in any way similar to that of MERLOT's. MERLOT's judgment regarding such similarity is the final word on such situations.
  
  
• To display, at a minimum, the following information together with MERLOT metadata returned by a WSRS search:
  
• i) the MERLOT logo as a link to www.merlot.org,
• ii) a direct link to the MERLOT repository description of the material
• iii) the Creative Commons license described in (http://taste.merlot.org/acceptableuserpolicy.html#cc).  Specifically, this means including on the 'hitlist' page of results the following:  "The data displayed in these search results are subject to MERLOT's adoption of the Creative Commons license: Attribution, Non Commercial, Derivative, Share-Alike (by-nc-sa)."  (amended 4-16-09)
• iv) a direct link to this Agreement
• v) a direct link to the MERLOT Acceptable Use Agreement (http://taste.merlot.org/acceptableuserpolicy.html)

• Not to use the WSRS or MERLOT metadata or any other technology to create projects that compete with MERLOT. 
  
  
• Obtain a license key for the users described in this agreement.
  
  
• A license key may be deployed on only one computer and is not transferrable to a second computer, whether or not that computer is the property of the requestor or any other third party.
  


• Ownership: The MERLOT WSRS has been developed by the MERLOT project and California State University. Copyright of the MERLOT WSRS is held by The California State University.  Copyright for the MERLOT Metadata is held by the California State University and MERLOT Metadata submitter as described in the MERLOT Acceptable Use Agreement.

• Warranty:  MERLOT WSRS is provided "as is" without warranty against software errors, and without guarantee of fitness for any particular purpose.  Neither the California State University System nor any vendor within whose product MERLOT’s WSRS has been deployed shall be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages that may result from use of MERLOT WSRS or metadata.

• Support:  MERLOT is not obligated to provide any support of the WSRS. Bug reports and feature requests should be sent to webmaster@merlot.org

• Termination of Agreement: 
• MERLOT reserves the right to terminate this agreement without cause or explanation at any time. 
  
  
• If the WSRS is deployed from within a vendor LMS or other application and the LMS or application license agreement is terminated, the use of the MERLOT WSRS must also end or alternative agreements must be developed and approved by MERLOT.
  
  
• Privacy.  MERLOT and the California State University System are authorized to use any personal information described in or related to this Agreement to provide the services described herein and to determine our compliance with this Agreement.

Questions or comments regarding this policy should be sent to webmaster@merlot.org.

Revised 10/30/2012 bbs