|
COPYRIGHT POLICY: OWNERSHIP | No. 5-41 | Rev. |
| Date 9-12-95 | |||
POLICY
I. PURPOSE AND SCOPE
A. Purpose
The purpose of the university's copyright policy is to outline the
respective rights which members of the faculty, staff, and student body
have in intellectual materials created while employed by or attending
the university.
B. Nature of Rights Protected by Copyright
Copyright is a form of protection given by law to authors of
intellectual works. Only authors or those to whom authors have assigned
their rights may claim copyright. The owner of a copyright retains and
controls a bundle of rights, including but not limited to the following:
to print and reprint copies of the work; to sell or distribute copies of
the work; to transform or revise the work; and to perform or display the
work to the public.
C. Scope of Works Protected by Copyright
1. Literary works;
2. Musical works including accompanying words;
3. Dramatic works including accompanying music;
4. Pantomimes and choreographic works;
5. Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
6. Motion pictures and audiovisual works;
7. Sound recordings; and
8. Computer programs and documentation.
The requirement the law places on the copyrightability of any of the
above works is that the work must be in a form that can be perceived
directly or by means of a machine or other device. Both published and
unpublished works are under statutory protection.
D. Limitations on Copyright Coverage
Copyright protection is not extended to any idea, procedure, process,
system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery,
regardless of how it is described, explained, illustrated or embodied.
E. Copyright Ownership
The university encourages the preparation and publication of
copyrightable works that result from teaching, research, scholarly and
artistic endeavors by members of the faculty, staff and student body by
upholding ownership rights of authors in their writings and scholarship
that result from usual teaching, research or artistic activities.
Normally, the copyright of these works is held by the author.
However, because of advancing technology, new forms of educational
materials are being developed which require a substantially greater
level of direct support from the university than does the writing of a
"traditional" textbook and the like. The extraordinary use or purchase
of equipment and production facilities, computers, and the expertise of
a variety of individuals with special training may be required to
augment the talents of an author. When the investment of time and money
by the author and the university differs substantially from that
involved in the creation of customary educational material, as defined
by departmental norms, such material shall be designated as university-sponsored and the university may claim copyright.
II. DEFINITIONS
For purposes of this policy, the following definitions will apply:
A. Copyrightable Material. The term "material" refers to all copyrightable
works, including but not limited to, writings, lectures, musical or
dramatic compositions, sound recordings, films, videotapes and other
pictorial reproductions, computer programs, listings, flow charts,
manuals, codes, instructions, and software, and various combinations
thereof.
B. Copyright Owner. The term "owner" refers to the party who owns or
controls the bundle of rights to copyrightable material and who has the
right to sell, assign, distribute, license, or otherwise control the
uses of such material.
C. Publication. Publication occurs when by consent of the copyright owner
the original or tangible copies of a work are sold, leased, loaned,
given away, or otherwise made available to the general public.
D. Sale. Sale occurs when copyrightable materials are made available for
consideration.
III. OWNERSHIP
A. Individual Authors
The university does not claim copyright on material resulting from
customary teaching, research, scholarly and artistic activities such as
scholarly articles, research bulletins, monographs, paintings, musical
and dramatic compositions, sculptures, architectural designs, books,
textbooks, submissions to scientific and technical journals, reference
works and the like, and the preparation and taping of lectures or other
instructional units. Exceptions to this are defined in Section B below.
B. University Sponsor
1. The university may claim copyright under the following
circumstances:
(a) there is substantial support provided by any university
department or unit established to furnish such support or
assistance beyond the author's regular salary (including
stipends, fellowships, grants), customary use of secretarial
assistance, and the use of libraries, laboratories, studios,
computers, or equipment; and
(b) the university claims copyright as a condition of providing
the support.
Such works shall be regarded as university-sponsored works for
hire. Such works shall be the property of the university and, at
the university's option, shall be copyrighted in the name of the
university, except for material produced or developed under grants
from agencies of the federal government or other private sources
(see Section C, following).
2. The university reserves the right to claim copyright in university-sponsored works subject to the procedures described in this
paragraph. Decisions to claim copyright in the university's name
will be made by the provost or his or her designee, following
consultation and/or negotiation with the author(s), within sixty
(60) days from receipt of written notice from the author(s) to the
provost's office that he or she is creating a work which may be
subject to this Section B.2. If, following consultation and/or
negotiation with the author(s), the provost or his or her designee
fails to assert a copyright claim in writing within the sixty day
review period, the copyright will be released to the author(s).
However, the university reserves the right to claim copyright in
any work in which there is a substantial change in university
support until the requisite notice of the change has been given to
the provost's office and a new sixty day review period has run.
Thus, any work in which the nature, scope or level of university
support increases substantially during the course of the project
must be renegotiated.
3. A substantial contribution, further is one which is significant in
the context of the situation and the practices of particular
disciplines, colleges and departments or other units of the
university.
4. In all cases of substantial university support, an appropriate
agreement shall be entered into by the university and the
individual author(s). Questions whether particular copyrightable
materials are considered university-sponsored should be addressed
to the provost in consultation with appropriate departments or
units.
5. Copyrightable material produced as the primary purpose of
employment is considered a work-for-hire. In cases where the
university hires work, a written work-for-hire agreement shall be
prepared outlining the respective rights of the parties to the
copyrightable material.
For example, when the university, or one of its colleges, schools,
departments, or units has assigned a member of the faculty, staff
or student body to develop copyrightable material during time that
is being compensated for by funds administered by the university,
the university shall own the rights unless an agreement in writing
to the contrary has been reached between the author and the
university.
C. External Sponsor
Copyrightable material produced under grants from the federal or state
government, or a private agency, shall be subject to conditions of the
contract or grant with respect to ownership, distribution and use, and
other residual rights.
If the funding agency does not claim copyright, such right shall vest in
the university and Section B shall apply. If the funding agency desires
to claim copyright, the university shall make reasonable efforts to
negotiate sharing of royalty rights for the author and/or the
university.
IV. REVENUE SHARING
A. Individual Authors
Authors of intellectual works described in III. A. above, own the
copyrights in their works, and are free to publish them, register the
copyright, and receive any resulting revenue from their sale.
B. University Sponsor
1. When the university, at its option, obtains a copyright for
materials resulting from an effort regarded as university-sponsored, the author(s) may be allowed to share in any royalties
which accrue from the sale or lease of such material provided an
appropriate agreement is entered into. The agreement shall take
into account the effort and contribution of the author(s) as well
as the development costs to the university when setting the royalty
rates and return of investment.
2. When an author(s) makes a gift of a personal work to the
university, a written agreement accepting the contribution must be
executed. The agreement shall take into account whether the
author(s) shall share in any royalties resulting from the sale or
lease of the contributed work. All such agreements shall be
approved by the development office in consultation with the
copyright coordinator.
3. When the university obtains a copyright and assumes the obligation
of publishing and marketing a work, an agreement that sets forth a
schedule for sharing royalty income between the university unit
responsible for the production and the author(s), and summarizes
commitments and/or promises made by either of the parties to the
other shall be executed. Although each production effort will
receive separate consideration depending on the respective
contribution of the author(s) and the university, a general
schedule for sharing income is as follows:
(a) Eighty percent of gross proceeds of any sale will be allocated
to the University unit(s) incurring the direct cost of
publishing and marketing the work. Twenty percent of gross
proceeds will be distributed to the individual author(s) who
may or may not elect to disclaim all or part of their
individual share for the benefit of their home department or
unit.
(b) When the costs of publishing and marketing are recouped from
the 80 percent share of proceeds, the balance of proceeds will
be distributed so that the author(s) will receive 30 percent
of the gross proceeds, and the balance will be divided equally
between a university copyright development fund and the
university unit responsible for commercializing the
copyrighted work. The author(s) may or may not elect to
disclaim all or part of their individual share as described in
(a) above.
4. When the university does not act directly as the publisher of
copyrighted materials, but merely contracts with a commercial
publisher for that function on a royalty basis:
(a) The author(s) generally will be allocated 80 percent of the
royalty income paid by the publisher to the university, and
the university copyright development fund will receive the
balance.
(b) The 80 percent allocation described in (a) above will be
subject to modifications made by agreement between the
university and the author(s). For example, the author(s) may
agree that all or a part of their personal allocations be
deposited in a department development account established to
nurture and support further research and development of
copyrightable materials or any other use.
(c) The 80 percent allocation may be subject also to modification
so that the university may recoup administrative and
developmental costs beyond the ordinary.
C. External Sponsor
In cases of external funding, where the university and the funding
agency have negotiated a reasonable sharing of any income resulting from
the commercialization of sponsored copyrighted materials, the author may
appropriately share in any income. The nature and extent of author
participation in royalty income shall be subject to sponsor and
university agreement.
V. USE OF UNIVERSITY-SPONSORED MATERIAL
The university will consult or provide a reasonable opportunity for the
author's consultation with respect to use made of a copyrighted work within
the university or before any license for its use outside of the university is
granted. When unresolved matters on use occur, the matter shall be referred
to the provost for resolution or referral for binding arbitration.
VI. REVISION OF MATERIALS
University-sponsored materials shall not be altered or revised without
providing the author(s) a reasonable opportunity to assume the responsibility
for the revision. If the author(s) decline(s) the opportunity to revise such
material, the assignment of responsibility for the revision will be made by
the provost in consultation with the appropriate department.
VII. WITHDRAWAL OF MATERIALS
University-sponsored materials shall be withdrawn from use when such use is
deemed obsolete or inappropriate by the author(s) or the appropriate
department.
VIII.RELEASE
The university may elect to release to the author(s) the right to any work
copyrighted in the name of the university.
IX. LIABILITY
An author of a work produced as a result of a special assignment or
commission, or with substantial university or outside support, must warrant
that the material does not infringe on any existing copyright or other legal
rights; that work not identified as quotations or properly cited is the
expression or creation of the author; that necessary permission for quotation
and the like has been obtained; and that the work contains no libelous
material nor material that invades the privacy of others.
X. PROCEDURES
A. The responsibility for coordinating matters involving copyright,
including the making of contracts and the waiving or assigning of
rights, is assigned to the university copyright coordinator in
consultation with interested individuals and departments/units.
B. The responsibility for the commercial marketing of most university-owned
copyrighted materials, e.g., printed and media materials is assigned to
an appropriate administrative office in cooperation with the copyright
coordinator. The responsibility for maintaining appropriate fiscal
records is assigned to the copyright coordinator.
C. The copyright coordinator shall be responsible for ensuring the
agreements required in III.B. are accomplished.
D. Sample contracts are available through the office of the copyright
coordinator and the office of legal counsel.
E. All university-owned copyrights shall be protected by notice of
copyright in the name, "Weber State University," and may be registered
as such.