Bill > S2525

This bill establishes limitations on contract terms for libraries licensing electronic books and digital audiobooks, aiming to prevent unfair sales practices. It defines various terms like "aggregator" (a business that licenses collections of digital content from multiple publishers), "borrower," "digital audiobook," "electronic book," and "library" to clarify the scope of the law. The bill prohibits contracts that restrict a library's ability to license materials, use necessary technological protections, make preservation copies, loan materials via interlibrary loan, determine loan periods, acquire licenses at prices higher than the public pays, or restrict the number of licenses or total loan times unless perpetual licenses are offered at reasonable prices. It also prevents contracts that limit a library's ability to virtually recite text or display artwork to patrons, disclose license terms to other libraries, or violate patron confidentiality laws. Enforcement of these provisions is delayed until the Attorney General confirms that at least four other states have enacted substantially similar laws covering a combined population of at least ten million people, at which point such contracts with prohibited provisions will be considered unenforceable and void.