55. The Structure, Function, and Operations of Intellectual Property Service Providers
A. Formation and Development (continued)
Organizational Mission
A provider’s operational philosophy can be inferred from the services and information it offers to users and rightsholders, as well as from its corporate statements of purpose. Most service providers have crafted mission statements (some even publicize goals, objectives, and strategic plans) that are revealing sources for rightsholders and users investigating the provider’s services. The information and sentiments expressed in these statements reveal the tone and priorities of the organization and may foreshadow the experience one can expect with a particular provider.
The mission statement of the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC), for example, succinctly identifies its services, authority, licensing structure, user base, and content, as well as the rights it administers.7 It clearly reflects the tenor and purpose of the organization, which was formed by the major motion picture studios to administer the small rights involved in public viewing of home videos. Other service provider statements may strongly emphasize rightsholder representation or user services. Often a mission statement will emphasize goals and objectives that may not be readily apparent from descriptions of the provider’s operations. For example, the journal archiving project JSTOR has had to implement a licensing and distribution scheme for administering journals over electronic networks in order to pursue project objectives. But JSTOR’s management of intellectual property is a byproduct of the larger goals articulated in its mission statement, not a goal in itself.8
History and Startup Relationships