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
o 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 copyright ability 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and unpublished works are under statutory protection.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 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 allocate 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 (a) above.
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.
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