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Coalition for Networked Information
Information Policies: A Compilation of Position Statements,
Principles, Statutes, and Other Pertinent Statements
National Federation of Abstracting
and Information Services
1429 Walnut Street, 5th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-563-2406
Source: NFAIS Code of Practice Gateways, National
Federation of Abstracting and Information Services,
Philadelphia, PA, June 1987.
Code of Practice Gateways
Purpose
The National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services
(NFAIS) believes that increased access to information will benefit its
Members as well as serve the worldwide community of information
users. NFAIS strongly encourages the development of any new
technology which contributes to this goal. NFAIS strongly believes
that such technology(ies) should be implemented in a manner which
maintains an equitable balance of the interests of all participants in
the distribution of information.
1.1 It is the intent of NFAIS that this Code of Practice will
contribute to an awareness of the issues surrounding Gateway
arrangements and that it will stimulate an understanding of
how these issues affect each participant.
1.2 It is expected that this Code of Practice will be widely
adopted by the active participants in Gateway arrangements
as a point of reference for contracts and negotiations. The Code
of Practice does not offer a model contract, rather it provides a
set of principles and guidelines from which contractual terms
can be developed in specific applications.
1.3 Readers of the Code of Practice should be aware that
NFAIS is an organization comprised of database producers,
distributors, and users, established to foster communication of
the world's scientific and technological literature. NFAIS
recognizes that Gateways are a means for broadening such
communication. Accordingly, this document has been generated
to encourage the implementation of Gateway distribution
technology, by providing guidelines to help avoid disruptions
of the delicate balance of interests involved.
1.4 Acceptance of this Code of Practice will help ensure
full disclosure for the ultimate benefit of the Users so that they
will be able to understand the complex relationship between
the participants in a Gateway arrangement.
1.5 This Code of Practice is arranged as follows:
Background:
2.1 Telecommunications networks and software systems
for the online retrieval of database information have become
increasingly sophisticated. In recent years, additional
complexities have been encountered through the introduction of
"Gateways" which act as interfaces among networks, retrieval
systems and their component databases.
2.2 Such technological advances have provided
mechanisms for the broadest possible distribution of
information. However, they may, directly or indirectly, have
the effect of diminishing the effectiveness of copyright
protection and/or other forms of control desired by the
participants.
2.3 This blurring effect can permeate otherwise distinct
relationships among and between the database Owner(s), Host
System(s) and Information User(s).
2.4 The governing framework for the information
industry is essentially based on a set of legal bilateral contracts
which establish
the rights and obligations of the various
entities in the distribution chain.
2.5
Central to the legal contract between the Database
Owner and the Host System may
be specific information that
the Host is required to convey to the information User
concerning permitted uses of the databases.
2.6 Gateway arrangements can interfere with the
transmission of notices, warranties and restrictions from
Database Owners to information users, thereby introducing
ambiguity into what were clearly understood contractual
obligations. (It should be noted that said notices, warranties,
and restrictions vary with the individual contract agreed to by
the Database Owner and Host System. The terms of those
agreements are the determination of what may be required).
Gateways
A gateway can be broadly defined as a link or links between a
User of an online database and the primary Host System(s) of the
database. Gateways take various forms, some of which are described
and illustrated by example in Appendix A.
3.1 As a result of this process, new information
distribution channels are created which may have some of the
following effects:
3.1.1 The User may be afforded access to
database without notification as to their ownership
and the terms/conditions of use established by the
Owner.
3.1.2 An unlicensed Host may derive access to a
database for which it has no license or contractual
arrangement.
3.1.3 User identification information from an
unlicensed Host may not be available to either the
licensed Host or to the Database Owner.
3.1.4 The User may not be notified of which
(among several) Host Systems are being employed.
Notwithstanding the specific examples noted, Gateway
arrangements could act in such a manner as to alter, or invalidate
contractual undertakings of the participants.
Rights and Obligations: A Code of Practice
In this section a distinction is drawn between the term "Rights"
which is defined as information or services that participants in a
Gateway arrangement are entitled to receive, and the term
"Obligations" which is defined as the information or services that
participants may be required to provide.
"Rights" and "Obligations" are not distributed evenly among
the participants. This is due to their differing roles in the various
processes involved in a Gateway arrangement. A "Right" may be
waived by the entitled person; an "Obligation" cannot be ignored
without such a waiver.
4.1 There are four participants in a Gateway
arrangement. They are:
1) Proprietary owner (producer) of database(s),
2) Host System (vendor) which has license
agreements or contracts providing for its use of
proprietary databases,
3) Gateway, as already described in Section 3
(and Appendix A), and
4) The User of the database(s).
4.2 The major "Rights" and "Obligations" can include
the following:
I. Identification of Database Ownership
II. Identification of User(s)
III. Identification of Host System(s)
IV. Identification of Database(s) Accessed
V. Description of Gateway Component(s)
VI. Changes to Gateway Component(s)
VII. Accuracy and Quality of Data/Services
VIII. Updating
IX. Privacy
X. Use of Information
4.3 The matrix shown below visually describes the
distribution of the Rights and Obligations as identified in this
Code of Practice. The symbol "R" is used to indicate where a
Right resides, and the symbol "O" is used to indicate where an
Obligation resides. These "Rights" and "Obligations" can be
conferred exclusively on one participant, or, according to their
nature, they can be attributed to more than one participant in a
Gateway arrangement. In a number of cases a Gateway
participant may have both a Right and Obligation associated
with a particular issue. Narrative descriptions of the Rights
and Obligations as well as the rationale used to assign them
follow the matrix.
Database Primary
Owner Host Gateway User
System
I. R O R/O R
II. R R/O R/O O
III. R O R/O R
IV. R O R/O R
V. R/O R/O R/O R
VI. R/O R/O R/O R
VII. R/O R/O R/O R
VIII. R/O R/O R R
IX. --- O O R
X. R O O O
4.4 Description and Rationale
I. Identification of Ownership: The ownership
of a status of a database must be readily and publicly
accessible throughout the Gateway arrangement to
ensure copyright protection. The User has the right to
know this information and the Owner has the right to
expect that the Host System and Gateway will
disseminate the information. Additionally, the
Gateway has the right to receive the information from
the Host System.
II. Identification of User(s): User information
must be recorded and conveyed along the Gateway
chain. It is the obligation of the database User to
supply sufficient identification information to both the
primary Host and the Gateway operator. It is the
obligation of the Host and Gateway operator to convey
such user information to the database owner.
III. Any Host System entering into a Gateway
arrangement must be identified to all other
participants in that Gateway. It is the obligation of
the primary Host to inform the Owner of a database it
distributes that a Gateway arrangement exists. A
Gateway operator has the obligation to inform users of
which Host System is being utilized and have the
right to be notified if any Host in the Gateway
arrangement enters into an arrangement with another
Host System.
IV. Identification of Database(s) Accessed:
A Database accessed by any means in a Gateway
arrangement must be identified by names that are
approved by the database owner. Gateway Operators
have the right to receive these names from the Host
Systems and have the obligation to relay the name to
the User.
V. Description of Gateway Components:
Any public description, by whatever means, of a
Gateway or any component thereof must be accurate.
Every participant in a Gateway arrangement has the
right to receive such accurate data. To fulfill the right
requires that each Database Owner, Host System and
Gateway Operator in the arrangement assume the
obligation of providing appropriate information to the
other participants.
VI. Changes to Gateway Component(s):
Any changes to a Gateway component must be fully and
promptly disclosed by the participant making the
change. Every participant in a Gateway arrangement
has the right to receive such information. To fulfill
this right requires that each Database Owner, Host
System and Gateway Operator in the arrangement
assume the obligation of providing appropriate
information to the other participants.
VII. Accuracy and Quality of
Data/Services: The data and services provided by any
Gateway participant must adhere to the standards for
quality and accuracy which are publicly described by
each. Each participant in a Gateway arrangement has
the right to receive data and services which adhere to
such publicly defined standards. Database Owner,
Host System and Gateway Operator have the
obligation to provide such data and services to one
another and to the User.
VIII. Updating: The regular delivery of and
timely access to information must be in accord with
specific, predetermined agreements between
participants in a Gateway arrangement. It is the
obligation of both the Database Owner and the
primary Host System to provide such timely access to
the Gateway Operator and therefore to the user. It is
the right of the Database owner and the primary Host
System to expect that the other will perform the
updates in accordance with their predetermined
agreement.
IX. Privacy: The nature of search queries and
the corresponding results are privileged information
and cannot be disclosed. It is the obligation of both the
primary Host System and the Gateway Operator to
maintain such privacy, which is the Right of the User.
X. Use of Information: The permitted uses of
information are predefined by the Database Owner and
cannot be extended beyond the scope of such definition
by any other Gateway participant. The Primary Host
System and Gateway Operator are obliged to disclose
to the User the authorized use(s) of database
information. The Primary Host System, Gateway
Operator and User are each obliged to observe the
Right of the Database Owner by complying with
Owner's terms and conditions for the use of the
database.
4.5 It must be clearly understood that while a Right may be
waived by the entitled party, an obligation cannot go
unfulfilled unless a specific waiver is obtained.
Appendix A
A Gateway is a link or links between a User of an online database and
the primary Host System(s). Examples of Gateway:
1. Front-end to Host System(s)
A front-end to Host-System Gateway may be:
A. Software resident on a floppy disk or other
recording medium that is employed by the user to access
a host system and database of the user's choosing. The
software usually provides easier log on procedures,
easier search protocols, post-processing of search results
and other data management functions. Examples: Pro-
Search and Sci-Mate Searcher.
B. A commercial system through which the user
can access a database of either the system's choice or
the user's choice. The user need not know the identity
of the database accessed or the host system on which
the database resides. Example: Easynet.
2. Front-end to Front-end to Host System(s)
A front-end to front-end to Host System may be:
A. A custom Gateway tailored to the specific
needs of the executive of a specific corporation or some
other well defined user group. This custom Gateway
interacts with a more general gateway that then links
to a primary Host System. Example: Smith Kline and
French Execunet.
B. A general Gateway established to serve a
public clientele. This general Gateway interacts with
another general Gateway that then links to a primary
Host System. Example: InfoMaster, which interacts
with EASYNET which in turn is linked to a variety of
Host Systems.
3. Host System to Host System
A. A one way Host System to Host System
Gateway is one in which a Host System contracts with
another Host System to allow subscribers to the first
system to have access to the databases on the second
system. Examples: Mead/DIALOG, ESA/Datasolve
B. A two-way Host System to Host System
Gateway is one in which two Host Systems agree to
allow subscribers of either to access databases mounted
on the other's system. Examples: None presently
available.
C. A Gateway in which a Host System has
two-channels: One is a two-way channel through
which it receives a queries and transmits data to end-
users and/or other Host Systems; the second is a one-
way channel (outbound) through which it passes
inbound queries to another Host System. Examples:
Human Resources Information Network.
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