9. Ownership, Use and Control of Intellectual Property
D.9.01 Personal Works and Scholarly Work:
The System claims no ownership interest in personal or Scholarly Works. The creator of such Works owns and maintains control of rights to the Intellectual Property. Creators of personal or Scholarly Works have the responsibility of securing legal protection for their Works, retain any royalties resulting from their exploitation of the Works, and are responsible for any liability that results from their involvement in creation of the Intellectual Property.
D.9.02 System -Supported Work:
A System-supported Work will be owned by the System Board of Trustees, by the creator, or jointly by both.
Work created by a non-faculty employee in the course and scope of employment with the System is owned by the System Board of Trustees, not the creator, except for a Scholarly Work created by a staff employee with researcher or professional job responsibilities.
Work that would normally be considered a Scholarly Work except for the more than incidental use of System resources would usually be considered jointly owned System-supported Work not a Scholarly Work, unless the creator and the System enter into a written agreement confirming different ownership rights. (Scholarly Works that are converted into Electronically Developed Course Materials (EDCM) are discussed in the subsequent section of the policy.)
A Work that would normally be considered a Scholarly Work but was created as part of a Specifically Contracted Assignment or a Sponsored Project is a System-supported and owned Work and not a Scholarly Work, even if such Work is a scholarly, educational, artistic, musical, or literary Work within the creator's field of expertise or study. This may be revised by a later agreement between the System and the creator, although any change to the terms of ownership on a Sponsored Project will require the agreement of the sponsor.
The System shall have the discretion whether to pursue formal legal protection of System-supported Work and to determine the means of commercialization for System-supported Work including exclusive and nonexclusive licensing agreements.
No royalties shall be paid to any creator for the System's use of System-supported Works, except that the Chancellor may develop procedures to permit faculty creators of academic instructional materials, including web-based courses, to be paid by the System for uses of such materials by other instructors on either a per student or per class basis. In exercising its discretion to share royalties, the Board of Trustees may consider whether prior approval for use of System resources was appropriate and, if so, whether such approval was obtained.
D.9.03 Release of System-Supported Work to Creators:
A creator of any System-supported Work may request the Work be released to him or her for commercialization or publication. Approval may be granted by the System Board of Trustees, under the "Purchasing and Acquisition" Section of the Board Policy Manual, to release Intellectual Property rights to an employee or to a third party, provided the System is reimbursed for its investment in the Work or benefits from the commercialization are shared with the System.
The Board of Trustees may approve the waiver of its rights of reimbursement from creators of certain forms of System-supported Works:
a. A Work that would normally be considered a Scholarly Work, except for its inclusion in a Specifically Contracted Assignment or Sponsored Project; or
b. A Work that would normally be considered a Scholarly Work except for the more than incidental use of System resources.
In order for these Works to be released to the creator with no obligation to reimburse the System, the Board of Trustees must find that:
a. The creator petitioned the LEO to have the resulting Work or Works released to him or her; and
b. That the request is consistent with the System's commitment to the advancement of education and teaching excellence, service to its community, and publication and distribution of useful and learned material.
D.9.04 Electronically Developed Course Materials:
The general terms contained in the preceding sections of this policy apply to academic instructional materials except as provided in this section with regard to Electronically Developed Course Materials (EDCM).
In general, EDCM embody text, graphics, and sound created by the individual directing the course or used by that individual with the permission of the creator. Ownership of the resulting Work varies according to the circumstances. For example:
a. If an owner of a Personal or Scholarly Work independently combines that Work into HTML documents without more than incidental use of System resources, a Personal or Scholarly Work owned by the creator is the result.
b. If an owner of the same Personal or Scholarly Work delivers it to a System employee who combines the Work, for example, with additional expression and linking organization into an HTML document, then the resulting Work is a System-supported Work, jointly owned by the System and the faculty member. The System's ownership interests extend to the EDCM, but not to the underlying Works.
Thus, an instructor's lecture notes, manuscript excerpts, graphs, exam questions, and similar material that constitute Scholarly or Personal Works retain that status despite incorporation into EDCM but the addition of original expression by others within the scope of their employment makes the final product a System-supported Work.
a. A System-supported Work results when the EDCM contain any underlying System-supported Works, regardless of the manner of creation of the EDCM.
If a faculty member received a stipend or release time, the System-Supported Work is owned by the Board of Trustees. However, the faculty member shall be entitled to share equally in the royalties from the commercial licensing and distribution of the Work when net income received by the System exceeds the amounts paid to the faculty member and any direct costs incurred in the commercialization of the EDCM. A faculty member is not required to apply to the System Board to receive royalties. No royalties shall be paid, however, for the System's use of the Work in other EDCM that constitute System-supported Works.
D.9.05 Review and Reconsideration of Decisions:
Any employee of the System who is dissatisfied with a decision by the LEO regarding the ownership of intellectual property may petition the Chancellor who shall refer the petition to the Intellectual Property Committee for an appeal of the decision.
The Chancellor shall appoint an Intellectual Property Committee to consider petitions, to consist of at least seven persons, one of whom shall be an administrator, five of whom shall be faculty, and at least one of whom shall have knowledge and experience with the creation of LSC-Online.
Each member of the committee will be trained in matters of the laws of copyright, patent and other intellectual property concerns, as well as the System Policy and any implemented procedures.
The Committee will collect information needed to consider a petition through an informal hearing process. No court rules of evidence shall apply. The General Counsel of the System shall serve as a resource person to the Committee.
The Committee will make its recommendation to the Chancellor and the Chancellor will consider the committee's recommendation prior to determining the resolution of the appeal.
The decision of the Chancellor shall be appealable to the LSCS Board of Trustees under the "Grievances" Section of the Board Policy Manual.