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What responsibilities do university administrators, faculty, staff, and students have in regards to copyright? What copyright laws apply specifically to universities? This chapter provides an overview of copyright law in the university setting.

Chapter 9: Universities

Dr. Mendez and her graduate student spent most of a summer putting together the best-ever analysis of science fiction in the 1960s. They are planning to publish it in an academic journal, but the journal insisted on copyright clearance for some of the longer quotes. The writers would also like to post it on Dr. Mendez’s web site. Who owns the copyright of this article? Who can determine whether a quote needs copyright clearance? Who can determine whether or not to post it?

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to answer:

I. What are the copyright responsibilities of an educational institution?

II. What copyright rights and responsibilities do faculty have?

III. What copyright rights and responsibilities do students have?

IV. Why are Electronic Theses&Dissertations (ETDs) becoming popular?

  1. What are the responsibilities of an educational institution?

Many creative activities take place on a college or university campus, and many of the creations made on a campus are protected by copyright. Furthermore, the people teaching and learning on a campus use copyrighted materials in their studies every day. The ideal university environment is one in which copyright is understood and respected.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 requires all campuses that act as ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to educate all campus members (students, staff, and faculty) about copyright. If they do so (and also list a copyright infringement contact agent at the Copyright Office), they may claim some immunity from infringement accusations. (U.S. Government 1998) This obligation was further strengthened by the HEOA (Higher Education Opportunity Act) in 2008. In order for an institution or its students to be eligible for Federal aid, the school must do four things every year: Inform all students that the “unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials” is against the law; provide a summary of penalties for violating Federal copyright laws; provide a summary of the institution’s policies for dealing with copyright infringement; and provide the students with a list of legal alternatives to file-sharing for acquiring music. (U.S. Government 2008)

While every university’s copyright policy will be written to meet their needs, some common topics are: how to assign copyright to materials created on campus; how instructors should use materials not belonging to them; and policies to guide the licensing of digital materials. Needless to say, a university copyright policy will need updating as new media and creations are developed.

Materials created on campus belong, in most instances, to their creator. A faculty member is an employee of the university and his or her works could be considered “Works Made For Hire.” Most universities, however, officially grant faculty full copyright in the articles, fiction, artwork, and scientific research they may publish. The faculty member’s class outlines, notes, and syllabi also belong to them. The granting of copyright to the faculty member is a tradition in higher education, and is not based on any part of copyright law. (Crews 2006, 15)

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Source:  OpenStax, Copyright for the rest of us. OpenStax CNX. Dec 15, 2011 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11385/1.2
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