The University Senate of Michigan Technological
University
PROPOSAL 23-14
(revised 03-26-14)
(proposed admin amendments in purple: 21 June 2014)
(Voting Units: Academic Full Senate)
"Proposal to Establish Michigan Technological
University’s Copyright Policy Regarding Scholarly, Academic, and Artistic
Works”
1. Background and rationale
Michigan Technological University’s Intellectual Property Policies
currently have no clear statement clarifying the status of works produced by it’s its faculty and
staff which that fall
under the scope of copyright, including scholarly, academic, and/or artistic works. This proposed policy fills the
existing gap in Board of Control Policy. This policy is copied nearly verbatim from the University of
Michigan’s Standard Practice Guide, edited as appropriate for Michigan
Technological University.
http://www.lib.umich.edu/files/services/copyright/601.28%20%281%29.pdf
According to The Office of the Vice President for Research, Innovation,
and Industry Engagement’s website, Michigan Technological University’s
Operating Procedures 11.1 excludes “Books, articles, manuscripts, and works of
art (except to the extent that they contain proprietary information related to
inventions or computer software) are not included in these policies.” This passage recognizes the university’s
traditional support of the “teacher exception” to copyright law.
Michigan Tech’s current Operating Procedures are based upon Board of
Control Policy, cited in the VP for Research website as Chapter 18. This chapter no longer exists, but is currently
Chapter 14: “Patents and Proprietary Rights.” The official BOC policy in
Chapter 14 makes no reference to books, articles, works of art, curricular
material, lecture notes, exhibitions, compositions, or other related work.
Excluding a category of intellectual property in operating procedures does not
establish policy-level rules that further
clarify the legal status of those materials. This policy therefore codifies seeks to codify
existing and traditional practices.
For reference:
http://www.admin.mtu.edu/admin/boc/policy/ch14/index.htm
In the absence of Board of Control Policy, United States 1976 Copyright
Act and other case law provide clues, subject to interpretation, of how IP
practices should operate at Michigan Tech. A formal and explicit policy is
clearly needed, because narrow interpretations of current copyright law could
imply that all of the following routine (albeit hypothetical) situations or
practices undertaken by faculty and staff have potentially been in violation of
federal copyright law:
a.
Scholars assigning copyright on academic publications
over to journal or book publishers.
b.
Artists offering artworks for sale at campus events
(like the Great Lakes Showcase) or private events (like in the Copper County
Community Arts Center or other National/International shows).
c.
Staff or Faculty that mentor or advise community
organizations such as youth hockey teams designing logos or creating playbooks
for those teams, when that individual reports that community service in their
annual review.
d.
Graduate student teaching assistants who develop
lecture notes during their employ at Michigan Tech, then use those notes,
exercises, presentation slides, or digital learning tools at another university
or job.
e.
Any MTU employee putting educational resources into
the public domain under Creative Commons license.
2. Proposal
This policy promotes Michigan
Technological University’s scholarly, academic, and service missions by
establishing a framework for who holds copyright at the University. Because the
University is committed to academic freedom, it strives—despite the legal default—to
place copyright with the creators of scholarly, academic, and artistic works.
Moreover, this policy encourages and does not limit the rights and abilities of
people to make “fair uses” or other lawful uses of copyrighted works.
[Words appearing in SMALL CAPS
are to be read as defined in Section H of this policy.]
A.
The Default: Under U.S.
copyright law, the University holds the copyright (as “works made for hire”) in
copyrighted works authored by its EMPLOYEES who are acting within the scope of
their employment. Otherwise, the University does not hold copyright in a work,
unless the copyright has been transferred legally to it by written assignment
or other process of law.
B.
Transfer of SCHOLARLY WORKS:
In light of the default, the University, hereby, transfers any copyright it
holds in SCHOLARLY WORKS to the FACULTY who authored those works—with the
following conditions and exceptions.
1.
Conditions—When the University transfers copyright in SCHOLARLY WORKS to
FACULTY, under this policy, it reserves the nonexclusive right to:
a. use
SCHOLARLY WORKS for educational or administrative purposes consistent with its
educational mission and academic norms and
b. preserve,
archive, and host SCHOLARLY WORKS in its institutional repositories, such as The Michigan Tech Archive and Copper Country Historical
Collections the Digital Commons at Michigan
Technological University, University Archives and Copper Country Historical
Collections, or the campus computing network, where FACULTY can control
the timing and scope of access to their copyrighted works.
c. set limits for
the incorporation of Michigan Tech’s name, logos, seals and other symbols in
later use of SCHOLARLY WORKS.
2.
Exceptions—The University does not, under this policy, transfer its copyright
in SCHOLARLY WORKS:
a. that are
authored as required DELIVERABLES under a sponsored activity agreement;
b. when that
would put the University in violation of or conflict with an applicable
contract or law;
c. that are
specifically commissioned by the University or are created as part of an
administrative assignment to, for, or on behalf of the University;
d. that are
software under Board of Control Policy 14.1.2-14.1.5;
or
e. that are
or have been transferred to the University in a
writing. (other than the Board of Control Bylaws
14.1 acknowledgement which FACULTY sign as condition of employment).
f. if FACULTY created instructional material is
intended to be sold to third party providers of on-line courses during
FACULTY’s time of employment at Michigan Tech.
C.
Students: Students
hold the copyright in works they author, unless they have authored works as
EMPLOYEES or transferred their copyright in writing to the University or other
entity.
D.
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS:
It is the general practice of the University to have INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
transfer to the University, in writing, the copyright in works they create for,
in conjunction with, or on behalf of the University.
E.
Collaborative and Joint Works: When people collaborate to author a copyrighted work, it often
results in a “joint work” in which all the rights holders jointly hold
nonexclusive rights to use the work. EMPLOYEES and students who collaborate
with each other or with non-University third-parties (e.g., volunteers,
visitors, and collaborators) are encouraged to describe or determine, in
writing, the disposition of copyright prior to authoring the work.
F.
University-Held Works:
1. Disposition: Ordinarily, the
University units most closely associated with the creation of specific
University-held
works may authorize uses of those works (e.g., they may authorize a third-party
to copy, adapt, or distribute a University-held work). The disposition of the following
University-held
works, however, shall be managed by the responsible unit of the Office of the
Vice President for Research: software intended to be revenue-generating;
software funded under a sponsored activity agreement; and any DELIVERABLES
funded under a sponsored activity agreement.
2. Notice and Registration:
University-held
works that are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office or that include a
copyright notice should identify the “Michigan Technological University” as the
copyright holder.
3. Freedom to Contract: The
University is free to contract with EMPLOYEES, students, or others to license
uses of or to transfer or acquire the copyright in works.
G.
Policy Interpretation and Dispute Resolution: This policy and its implementation may
require interpretation and review. University constituents should make every attempt
to resolve disputes informally with the assistance of one or more of the
following: the Office of the Ombudsman, Office of the Provost and Vice
President of Academic Affairs, Vice President for Research, Chief Information
Officer, Director of the Office of Innovation and Industry Engagement, or other
official. If informal procedures and
consultation do not provide resolution of a dispute or policy issue, University
constituents may file a request for formal dispute resolution or policy
interpretation with the Office of the Provost.
H.
Definitions:
DELIVERABLES means copyrighted works that must be authored and delivered in
order to comply with the obligations of a sponsored activity agreement.
EMPLOYEES means any people
employed by Michigan Technological University in any capacity, whether they are
faculty, staff, administration, or students and whether they are employed
full-time, part-time, or in a temporary capacity.
FACULTY means full-time and
part-time tenured, tenure-track, research, lecturer, clinical, and adjunct
faculty, as well as librarians, archivists, and curators.
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS means
non-EMPLOYEES retained by the University to provide goods or services.
SCHOLARLY WORKS means works
authored by FACULTY within the scope of their employment as part of or in
connection with their teaching, research, or scholarship. Common examples of
SCHOLARLY WORKS include: lecture notes, case examples, course materials,
textbooks, works of nonfiction, novels, lyrics, musical
compositions/arrangements and recordings, journal articles, scholarly papers,
poems, architectural drawings, software (see exception 2.d), visual works of art,
sculpture, and other artistic creations, among others, regardless of the medium
in which those works are fixed or disseminated.
I. Trademark
This policy does not grant FACULTY the right to use the name of
Michigan Tech or any images representing Michigan Tech in the use of any
SCHOLARLY WORKS which are outside of their duties as FACULTY of Michigan Tech
or are not conducted on behalf of Michigan Tech.
Clean
Copy:
The University Senate of Michigan Technological
University
PROPOSAL 23-14
(Voting Units: Full Senate)
"Proposal to Establish Michigan Technological
University’s Copyright Policy Regarding Scholarly, Academic, and Artistic
Works”
1. Background and rationale
Michigan Technological University’s Intellectual Property Policies
currently have no clear statement clarifying the status of works produced by its
faculty and staff that fall under the scope of copyright, including scholarly,
academic, and/or artistic works. This proposed policy fills the existing gap in
Board of Control Policy. This policy is
copied nearly verbatim from the
University of Michigan’s Standard Practice Guide, edited as appropriate for
Michigan Technological University.
http://www.lib.umich.edu/files/services/copyright/601.28%20%281%29.pdf
According to The Office of the Vice President for Research, Innovation,
and Industry Engagement’s website, Michigan Technological University’s
Operating Procedures 11.1 excludes “Books, articles, manuscripts, and works of
art (except to the extent that they contain proprietary information related to
inventions or computer software) are not included in these policies.” This passage recognizes the university’s
traditional support of the “teacher exception” to copyright law.
Michigan Tech’s current Operating Procedures are based upon Board of Control
Policy, cited in the VP for Research website as Chapter 18. This chapter no longer exists, but is
currently Chapter 14: “Patents and Proprietary Rights.” The official BOC policy
in Chapter 14 makes no reference to books, articles, works of art, curricular
material, lecture notes, exhibitions, compositions, or other related work.
Excluding a category of intellectual property in operating procedures does not
establish policy-level rules that clarify the legal status of those materials.
This policy therefore seeks to codify existing and traditional practices.
For reference:
http://www.admin.mtu.edu/admin/boc/policy/ch14/index.htm
In the absence of Board of Control Policy, United States 1976 Copyright
Act and other case law provide clues, subject to interpretation, of how IP
practices should operate at Michigan Tech. A formal and explicit policy is
clearly needed, because narrow interpretations of current copyright law could
imply that all of the following routine (albeit hypothetical) situations or
practices undertaken by faculty and staff have potentially been in violation of
federal copyright law:
f.
Scholars assigning copyright on academic
publications over to journal or book publishers.
g.
Artists offering artworks for sale at campus events
(like the Great Lakes Showcase) or private events (like in the Copper County
Community Arts Center or other National/International shows).
h.
Staff or Faculty that mentor or advise community
organizations such as youth hockey teams designing logos or creating playbooks
for those teams, when that individual reports that community service in their
annual review.
i.
Graduate student teaching assistants who develop
lecture notes during their employ at Michigan Tech, then use those notes,
exercises, presentation slides, or digital learning tools at another university
or job.
j.
Any MTU employee putting educational resources into
the public domain under Creative Commons license.
2. Proposal
This policy promotes Michigan
Technological University’s scholarly, academic, and service missions by
establishing a framework for who holds copyright at the University. Because the
University is committed to academic freedom, it strives to place copyright with
the creators of scholarly, academic, and artistic works. Moreover, this policy
encourages and does not limit the rights and abilities of people to make “fair
uses” or other lawful uses of copyrighted works.
[Words appearing in SMALL CAPS
are to be read as defined in Section H of this policy.]
A.
The Default: Under U.S.
copyright law, the University holds the copyright (as “works made for hire”) in
copyrighted works authored by its EMPLOYEES who are acting within the scope of
their employment. Otherwise, the University does not hold copyright in a work,
unless the copyright has been transferred legally to it by written assignment
or other process of law.
B.
Transfer of SCHOLARLY WORKS:
In light of the default, the University, hereby, transfers any copyright it
holds in SCHOLARLY WORKS to the FACULTY who authored those works—with the
following conditions and exceptions.
1.
Conditions—When the University transfers copyright in SCHOLARLY WORKS to
FACULTY, under this policy, it reserves the nonexclusive right to:
a. use
SCHOLARLY WORKS for educational or administrative purposes consistent with its
educational mission and academic norms and
b. preserve,
archive, and host SCHOLARLY WORKS in its institutional repositories, such as
the Digital Commons at Michigan Technological University, University Archives
and Copper Country Historical Collections, or the campus computing network,
where FACULTY can control the timing and scope of access to their copyrighted
works.
c. set limits
for the incorporation of Michigan Tech’s name, logos, seals and other symbols
in later use of SCHOLARLY WORKS.
2.
Exceptions—The University does not, under this policy, transfer its copyright
in SCHOLARLY WORKS:
a. that are
authored as required DELIVERABLES under a sponsored activity agreement;
b. when that
would put the University in violation of or conflict with an applicable
contract or law;
c. that are
specifically commissioned by the University or are created as part of an
administrative assignment to, for, or on behalf of the University;
d. that are
software under Board of Control Policy 14.1; or
e. that are
or have been transferred to the University in writing (other than the Board of
Control Bylaws 14.1 acknowledgement which FACULTY sign as condition of
employment).
f. if
FACULTY created instructional material is intended to be sold to third party
providers of on-line courses during FACULTY’s time of employment at Michigan
Tech.
C.
Students: Students
hold the copyright in works they author, unless they have authored works as
EMPLOYEES or transferred their copyright in writing to the University or other
entity.
D.
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS:
It is the general practice of the University to have INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
transfer to the University, in writing, the copyright in works they create for,
in conjunction with, or on behalf of the University.
E.
Collaborative and Joint Works: When people collaborate to author a copyrighted work, it often
results in a “joint work” in which all the rights holders jointly hold
nonexclusive rights to use the work. EMPLOYEES and students who collaborate
with each other or with non-University third-parties (e.g., volunteers,
visitors, and collaborators) are encouraged to describe or determine, in
writing, the disposition of copyright prior to authoring the work.
F.
University-Held Works:
4. Disposition: Ordinarily, the
University units most closely associated with the creation of specific
University-held works may authorize
uses of those works (e.g., they may authorize a third-party to copy, adapt, or
distribute a University-held work).
The disposition of the following University-held
works, however, shall be managed by the responsible unit of the Office of the
Vice President for Research: software intended to be revenue-generating; software funded under a
sponsored activity agreement; and any DELIVERABLES funded under a sponsored
activity agreement.
5. Notice and Registration:
University-held works that are
registered with the U.S. Copyright Office or that include a copyright notice
should identify the “Michigan Technological University” as the copyright
holder.
6. Freedom to Contract: The
University is free to contract with EMPLOYEES, students, or others to license
uses of or to transfer or acquire the copyright in works.
G.
Policy Interpretation and Dispute Resolution: This policy and its implementation may
require interpretation and review. University constituents should make every attempt
to resolve disputes informally with the assistance of one or more of the
following: the Office of the Ombudsman, Office of the Provost and Vice
President of Academic Affairs, Vice President for Research, Chief Information
Officer, Director of the Office of Innovation and Industry Engagement, or other
official. If informal procedures and
consultation do not provide resolution of a dispute or policy issue, University
constituents may file a request for formal dispute resolution or policy
interpretation with the Office of the Provost.
H.
Definitions:
DELIVERABLES means copyrighted works that must be authored and delivered in
order to comply with the obligations of a sponsored activity agreement.
EMPLOYEES means any people
employed by Michigan Technological University in any capacity, whether they are
faculty, staff, administration, or students and whether they are employed
full-time, part-time, or in a temporary capacity.
FACULTY means full-time and
part-time tenured, tenure-track, research, lecturer, clinical, and adjunct
faculty, as well as librarians, archivists, and curators.
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS means
non-EMPLOYEES retained by the University to provide goods or services.
SCHOLARLY WORKS means works
authored by FACULTY within the scope of their employment as part of or in
connection with their teaching, research, or scholarship. Common examples of
SCHOLARLY WORKS include: lecture notes, case examples, course materials,
textbooks, works of nonfiction, novels, lyrics, musical
compositions/arrangements and recordings, journal articles, scholarly papers,
poems, architectural drawings, software (see exception 2.d), visual works of
art, sculpture, and other artistic creations, among others, regardless of the
medium in which those works are fixed or disseminated.
I. Trademark
This policy does not grant
FACULTY the right to use the name of Michigan Tech or any images representing
Michigan Tech in the use of any SCHOLARLY WORKS which are outside of their
duties as FACULTY of Michigan Tech or are not conducted on behalf of Michigan
Tech.
Introduced to Senate:
05 March 2014
Wordsmith changes in red approved by
Senate: 26 March 2014
Friendly amendment highlighted in blue approved by Senate: 26
March 2014
Vote on proposal postponed for two weeks
Approved by Senate: 09 April 2014
Approved by Administration with proposed amendments (in purple): 21 June 2014
Senate Approved Amendments: 24 September 2014
Approved by BOC (with some modifications): 19 December 2014