Responsible Office: Academic Affairs Approved By: President's Council Approved Date: 4/3/2010 Effective Date: 6/8/2010 Category: Academics Description/Purpose: The faculty and administration of Saint Francis University believe 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. Saint Francis University supports the development, production, and dissemination of intellectual property by its faculty members.
Details: What is Intellectual Property? Although the law provides for several different types of intellectual property, faculty concerns center on two: copyrights and patents. The following definitions are taken from pertinent federal statutes: 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, phonorecords, 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. [Note on computer software: Computer programs fall into a gray area between the two types of intellectual property. Programs that are a part of a "new and useful process" may be eligible for patent protection, while programs embodying minimally original expression may be eligible for copyright protection.] [Note on duration of patents and copyrights: The duration of a patent is 20 years from the date of the filing of the patent. Actual patent protection begins when the patent actually issues from the Patent & Trademark Office. The duration of a copyright (for works created and published after January 1, 1978) is the life of the author plus 70 years. Before that date, the duration of copyright (with some exception) had been 75 years, increased to 95 years in 1998. Unlike patent protection, copyright protection under the Copyright Act attaches as soon as a work is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression," i.e., put on paper. There is no need to place a notice on distributed copies or applying to the Copyright Office for registration. (There are some benefits in doing so, but they are irrelevant to the duration of copyright.)] III. Who Owns the 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 he or she may voluntarily choose to transfer such property, in full, or in part. Faculty Ownership: 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 he or she may voluntarily choose to transfer such property, in full, or in part. Saint Francis University shall own copyright only in the following circumstances: University Ownership: The faculty author has voluntarily transferred the copyright, in whole or in part to the institution. Such transfer shall be in the form of a written document signed by the faculty author. Joint Ownership: The faculty author and the University will own the work as a “joint work” under the Copyright Act when the institution has contributed specialized services and facilities to the production of the work. The specialized services and facilities must go beyond what is traditionally provided to faculty members in the preparation of their course materials (e.g. contracted online coursework outside of load). Such arrangement is to be agreed to in writing, in advance, and in full conformance with other provisions of this policy.
Who may use the intellectual property? Material created for ordinary teaching use in the classroom and in department programs, such as presentations, syllabi, assignments, and tests shall remain the property of the faculty author, but institutions 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 an agreement transferring copyright for such works to a publisher, faculty authors are urged to seek to provide rights for the institution to use such works for internal instructional, educational, and administrative purposes. Distribution of any funds generated Funds received by the faculty member from the sale of intellectual property owned by the faculty author or inventor shall be allocated and expended as determined solely by the faculty author or inventor. Funds received by Saint Francis University from the sale of intellectual property owned by the University shall be allocated and expended as determined solely by the University. Funds received by the faculty member and Saint Francis University from the sale of intellectual property owned jointly by the faculty member and the University shall be allocated and expended in accordance with specific agreements previously negotiated by both parties. In the event of multiple creators, the creators will determine the allocation their individual shares when the work is first undertaken. How to resolve emerging issues and disputes Questions regarding emerging issues and disputes will be addressed to the Faculty Senate and be directed to the Committee on Resources or the Faculty Affairs Committee. The Resources Committee 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 Resources Committee shall serve as a forum for the receipt and discussion of proposals to change existing institutional policy and/or to provide recommendations for contract negotiations. Disputes over ownership, and its attendant rights, of intellectual property will be reviewed by the Faculty Affairs Committee. Recommendations will be forwarded back to the Faculty Senate. The Resources Committee shall make an initial determination of whether the University or any other party has rights to an invention or other creation, and, if so, the basis and extent of those rights. The Faculty Affairs Committee shall also make a determination on resolving competing faculty claims to ownership when the parties cannot reach an agreement on their own. The Faculty Resources Committee will review the merits of inventions, and other creations, and make recommendations for the management of the invention, including development, patenting, and exploitation. If the inventors/creators disagree with the determination of the Committee he/she may appeal to binding arbitration. The cost of the arbitration shall be borne equally by the parties involved in the dispute. Adapted with permission from: AAUP Suggestions and Guidelines for Institutional Policies and Contract Language for Ownership of Intellectual Property located at: http://www.aaup.org/Issues/DistanceEd/Archives/speccmt/ipguide.htm
American Association of University Professors 1012 Fourteenth Street, NW, Suite #500 Washington, DC 20005 202-737-5900 Fax: 202-737-5526 Current Revision: June 8, 2010 |