8. Intellectual Property Ownership Policy

8. Intellectual Property Ownership Policy

A. Introduction

Franklin College ("College") recognizes and is committed to encouraging research, and creative activity through multiple forms of artistic expression, and encourages the publication of the products of these creative activities. The college is also committed to the protection of the intellectual property rights of faculty, staff, and students, as well as the rights of the college.

B. Copyright Law and Intellectual Property

The protection of all creative works and intellectual property depends on the existence and the application of the federal Copyright Act. A brief summary of copyright law as well as the penalties and disciplinary actions for infringement of the law can be found here: http://franklincollege.libguides.com/copyright.

While not a requirement for claiming copyright ownership, it is highly recommended that all intellectual property works be identified with author's name, date of creation, and revision date(s). A notice of a copyright claim by the author can serve as fair warning and a deterrent to anyone who might be tempted to inappropriately use materials that are under copyright protection. The college is not responsible for policing the use or misuse of intellectual property that resides in shared resource locations such as the college’s Learning Management System or the college's intranet.

C. Copyright Ownership

1. Staff, administrators, and other non-faculty employees In general and as a default, Franklin College owns the copyright to any works created by its employees in the course of their college duties ("work for hire"). This includes, but is not limited to, copyright in works such as publications, software, web design, graphic and artistic work, photographs and other visual images, and audio recordings. The college may, at its discretion, grant the employee a non-exclusive license to use the work for mutually-agreed purposes if an employee requests it. Any such agreement shall be in writing and signed by both parties.

2. Faculty “Faculty,” as used in this section, means tenured, tenure-track, term, and part-time faculty. “Faculty” includes staff, librarians, and administrators when they create work while teaching a course for credit. It is a tradition among institutions of higher education to acknowledge that faculty members hold copyright to their intellectual property created while preparing materials in conjunction with their teaching duties. While the college does not assert any copyright ownership in faculty-produced works in general, it shall retain a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license for works developed for Franklin College courses or curriculum in order to ensure that such material is available for the support of the educational purposes of Franklin College. Copyright in works created outside the scope of teaching duties shall be owned by the faculty member, and the college does not claim copyright or licensing rights for these works, except as noted below. The following are limitations or exceptions:

a. Faculty rights in work created as a college-assigned task

In cases where a faculty member creates the work as part of a task explicitly assigned by the college, such as the development of a new course, and receives either of the following:

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1) financial support provided directly by or procured by the college in addition to the faculty member's regular salary

2) release time

An agreement will be signed between the faculty member and the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College concerning copyright ownership in that work. If the author is granted copyright ownership, then the college retains a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to use the work for the college’s educational, promotional, and public-relations purposes. If the college retains copyright in that work, then the author may request in the signed agreement to have a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to use the work for educational purposes. Shared copyright ownership is, of course, a third option. Sabbatical leave and the salary paid during such leave will not be considered "significant financial support" in determining copyright ownership in works created as a result of that leave.

b. Faculty rights in work created with external grant or contract support When work is created with the support of a grant or contract from an outside entity, such as a government entity (local, state, federal, or foreign), a foundation or other non-profit, or a commercial entity, the terms of that grant or contract will determine ownership of the intellectual property in that work.

c. Exceptions The Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College has the authority to negotiate exceptions to this section for particular members of the faculty. Such exceptions are valid only if in writing and if signed by the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College and the faculty member.

3. Students "Students," as used in this section, means anyone enrolled as a full-time or parttime student at Franklin College, including students who are auditing classes.

a. Rights “Student Works” are those works produced by Franklin students in fulfillment of class assignments, as projects for academic credit, or as projects with co-curricular or extra-curricular organizations. Student Works are owned by the student(s), and the college will retain a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to use the Student Work for educational, promotional, and public relations purposes.

b. Crediting of the College and Financial Contributors Franklin College will decide whether to put its name on a given Student Work. The Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College or the President of the College may request the student(s) who own(s) each Student Work to agree to credit, in a manner satisfactory to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College or President, any donor to Franklin College whose donation contributed directly to the production of such Student Work.

c. Preservation of student work It is the responsibility of the student to retrieve and preserve their works that are stored on college servers or desktop computers. The college has no obligation to preserve student work and reserves the right to delete it from college equipment after the end of the semester in which the work was created.

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