 |
 |
Preamble
Oglethorpe University believes that the public interest is best
served by creating an intellectual environment whereby creative
efforts and innovations can be encouraged and rewarded, while still
retaining for the university and its learning communities reasonable
access to, and use of, the intellectual property for whose creation
the university has provided assistance.
The university supports the development, production, and
dissemination of intellectual property by its faculty members, staff
and students.
Definitions
When used in this policy, the term "Copyright" shall be understood
to mean that bundle of rights that protect original “Works of
Authorship” fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or
later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or
otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine
or device. "Works of Authorship" (including computer programs)
include, but are not limited to the following: literary works;
musical works, including any accompanying words; dramatic works,
including any accompanying music; pantomimes and choreographic
works; pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works (photographs,
prints, diagrams, models, and technical drawings); motion pictures
and other audiovisual works; sound recordings; and architectural
works. "Tangible Media" include, but are not limited to, books,
periodicals, manuscripts, phonograph records, films, tapes, and
disks.
When used in this policy, the term "Patent" shall be understood
to mean that bundle of rights that protect inventions or discoveries
which constitute any new and useful process, machine, manufacture,
or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof;
new and ornamental designs for any useful article and plant patents
being for the asexual reproduction of a distinct variety of plant,
including cultivated sprouts, mutants, hybrids, and new found
seedlings, other than a tuber propagated plant or plant found in an
uncultivated state.
When used in this policy, the term “Intellectual Property” shall
include Copyright and Patent
Ownership of Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property created, made, or originated by a faculty
member shall be the sole and exclusive property of the faculty,
author, or inventor, except as otherwise provided in this policy.
The university shall own Intellectual Property only in the
following circumstances:
- The university expressly directs a faculty member to create a
specified work, or the work is created as a specific requirement
of employment or as an assigned institutional duty that may, for
example, be included in a written job description or an employment
agreement.
- The faculty author or inventor voluntarily transfers the
Intellectual Property, in whole or in part, to the university.
Such transfer shall be in the form of a written document signed by
the faculty author or inventor.
- The university contributes to a "joint work" under the
Copyright Act. The institution can exercise joint ownership under
this clause when it has contributed specialized services and
facilities to the production of the work that goes beyond what is
traditionally provided to faculty members generally in the
preparation of their course materials. Such arrangement is to be
agreed to in writing, in advance, and in full conformance with
other provisions of this policy. The granting of sabbaticals,
junior leaves and professional development grants by the
university shall not constitute grounds for “joint work” unless
specified by the university in the terms of the sabbatical, leave
or grant.
- The Intellectual Property results from externally funded
research where ownership by the university conforms to the
requirements of the funding agency.
Except as otherwise provided, Intellectual Property created,
made, or originated by a student shall be the sole and exclusive
property of the student author or inventor, except as he or she may
voluntarily choose to transfer such property, in full or in part, or
as provided in any agreement with an external funding source. The
university shall own the copyright or patent in the case that the
work was created by a student acting as an employee of the
University and working on a project as part of responsibilities as
an employee or when a student is assisting a faculty member on a
project designated as joint work.
Intellectual Property created, made, or originated by a staff
member in connection with his or her required job duties shall be
the sole and exclusive property of the university. The staff member
shall own Copyright of works and Patents of inventions created apart
from his or her designated job responsibilities or as part of
professional development activities apart from designated work tasks
except as otherwise provided.
Use of Intellectual Property
Material created for ordinary teaching use in the classroom and in
department programs, such as syllabi, assignments, and tests, shall
remain the property of the faculty author, but the university shall
be permitted to use such material for internal instructional,
educational, and administrative purposes, including satisfying
requests of accreditation agencies for faculty-authored syllabi and
course descriptions.
In any agreement transferring copyright for such works to a
publisher, faculty authors are expected to preserve the rights for
the institution to use such works for internal instructional,
educational, and administrative purposes.
Work created by students in connection with course assignments or
in response to surveys administered by the University shall be
available for the university to use for internal instructional,
educational, and administrative purposes, including the assessment
of student learning outcomes.
Distribution of any Funds Generated
Funds received by the student, faculty or staff member from the sale
of Intellectual Property owned by that author or inventor shall be
allocated and expended as determined solely by that author or
inventor.
Funds received by the university from the sale of intellectual
property owned by the university shall be allocated and expended in
accord with any applicable laws or agreements as determined solely
by the university.
Funds received by a faculty member or student and the university
from the sale of Intellectual Property owned jointly by the faculty
member or student and the university shall be divided equally
between the faculty member or student and the university unless a
different agreement was entered into when the work was first
undertaken.
In the event of multiple creators, the creators will determine
the allocation of their individual shares when the work is first
undertaken.
Resolution of Emerging Issues and Disputes
The President’s Cabinet shall monitor and review technological
and legislative changes affecting intellectual property policy and
shall report to relevant faculty and administrative bodies, when
such changes affect existing policies.
The President’s Cabinet shall serve as a forum for the receipt
and discussion of proposals to change existing institutional policy.
Disputes over ownership, and its attendant rights, of
intellectual property will be decided by the President of the
university. Should a dispute arise, the President shall call into
session a committee formed by three faculty members elected by
Faculty Council, the Director of Information Technology, and the
Vice President for Business and Finance who shall chair the
committee. The committee shall make an initial determination of
whether the university or any other party has rights to the
invention or other creation, and, if so, the basis and extent of
those rights. The committee shall also make a determination on
resolving competing faculty, student or staff claims to ownership
when the parties cannot reach an agreement on their own. The
committee shall make recommendation to the President who shall make
the final determination.
|
