OUR COPYRIGHT POLICY

This Copyright Policy the rights and responsibilities of the University; its faculty; other employees; students with student officer appointments or other students or post doctoral fellows who are collaborating with faculty members or researchers; and consultants. Copyright law protects the expression contained in works of authorship such as books, articles, memoranda, texts, computer programs, musical works, dramatic works, pictorial works, motion pictures and other audiovisual works, multimedia works, web pages and sound recordings.

The Policy describes the various categories of such works of authorship and addresses issues of ownership and assertion of rights in connection with those works. Section II sets forth how the Policy will be administered and provides for the creation of a Copyright Policy Standing Committee made up of faculty members, a student officer, and academic administrators (with the majority consisting of faculty members who do not also have administrative appointments at the University) to address issues concerning the proper interpretation of the Policy and to adjudicate disputes between creators and the University on issues of copyright ownership.

Section II also provides for a disclosure mechanism for works covered by this Policy and describes the procedures for licensing of works subject to University ownership or control under this Policy. When the works are licensed commercially, revenues from such commercialization will be shared among creators, their research accounts, departments, schools and the central University in accordance with Section II and a Distribution Policy.