The growing use of electronic transmission of lectures, homework assignments, examinations and other instructional material has changed the traditional educational landscape and expanded its boundaries considerably. New questions arise on a daily basis regarding potential new uses of academic intellectual property. If a faculty lecture can be transmitted to 40 students, why not transmit the lecture to 400 students? If a faculty member's lectures are put on computer disk, can the computer disk continue to be used even if the faculty member is no longer teaching that course? Can the computer disk be used by another teacher if the faculty member is no longer employed by that educational institution? If a faculty member puts a course on disk or on the web and then accepts employment at another school, may he/she take the electronic course to the new school? Can both schools use the same web course?

All of the preceding questions can be answered by asking one more question:

Who owns the faculty lectures and web pages?

The owner of the lectures has the right to decide whether to transmit to 40 or to 400 students. The owner can decide who has the right to use the lectures in any manner, including the right to edit, to duplicate or to include the original work in another, newer work. The owner can make decisions which will directly affect the quality of educational offerings by deciding how and when the lectures and other instructional material will be used, updated, distributed, edited, reproduced, performed, displayed, or coupled with other material.

The growing trend of electronic distribution of course materials has presented academia with exciting new opportunities for wide dissemination of educational material. Electronic distribution has also raised the question of ownership to a level of critical importance.

The SUNY Board of Trustees Policies say, "Generally the members of the staff of the University shall retain all rights to copyright and publish written works produced by them." Although this statement is followed by several conditions and caveats, it is fair to assume that University staff members own their writings and other works which can be protected by copyright.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

It is important to put the world on notice if copyright is claimed for material in print or via electronic distribution. How should a faculty member indicate ownership of a lecture which has been taped or transmitted via E-mail or the web?

As soon as a lecture has been placed on paper, tape, floppy disk, computer hard disk, or any other "tangible medium of expression," (17 U.S.C. §102 (a) 1996) the author of an original work has the right to place a copyright notice on that work. The notice should contain three elements: (1) the copyright symbol (2) the name of the owner, and (3) the date of first publication (when the work has been made available to the public). Here is the notice for this paper:

No one has the right to copy or change any portion of a protected work without the permission of the owner.

COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION

The copyright owner has the right to register the work with the Copyright Office in Washington, D.C., and this is another wise precaution. A certificate of registration will serve as proof of ownership in any judicial proceeding. Although there is never any guarantee that your rights won't be infringed, registration and proper copyright notice are the best ways to protect your rights.

Although the work is protected as soon as it has been set in a tangible medium of expression, the copyright owner cannot sue an infringer under U.S. copyright law until the work has been registered. At the present time, the registration fee is only $30.00, so the advantages of registration far outweigh the cost.

CONDITIONS FOR USE

If the copyright owner imposes conditions for use of material, it is clear that the material can be used only with permission of the copyright owner. Electronic distribution of copyright protected material should include explanation or clarification of the terms under which the material is being disseminated. The following questions and conditions might be among those considered:

1) What is the intent of the distribution?

Is this distribution part of class instruction in a nonprofit educational institution or is there some commercial benefit to the user or the owner?

2) Under what conditions can the material be used?

Should people who log on to the site be registered students of the class, or is the material available to anyone?

3) Under what conditions (if any) can the material be copied or re-distributed?

Is the material to be used only as part of class activities, or can it be used for any purpose?

4) What are the requirements for attribution?

Often, teachers allow material to be copied upon condition that it be copied in its entirety and that proper and accurate attribution be made.

5) What other conditions exist for lawful use of the material?

Disclaimers: (a) information provided carries no warranty, etc.

(b) no owner responsibility for content errors, omissions or infringement

(c) site owner retains right to revoke access

IF I OWN ALL MY LECTURES, CAN I MAKE THEM AVAILABLE TO MY SCHOOL?

Many faculty don't want to be bothered with legal questions. How can these staff members make their research and lectures available to the schools which employ them?

The answer is a simple one - - the copyright owner can license any of his or her intellectual property to any person or entity. The license can be for a specified amount of time or in perpetuity. The material can be licensed for no fee or for a specified fee after a certain number of uses. There are infinite numbers of conditions which may be set for a license, but the lectures, web pages and other intellectual property will remain under the control of the copyright owner, so the content and quality of the distribution and use can be monitored and controlled. The license may be short and simple but should be specific regarding the nature and time frame of the permitted use.

Here is an example of a license issued by an instructor/author for a course entitled Music 101:

"For the academic year 1999-2000, I grant the State University of New York College at Oneonta the right to use for instructional purposes only all Music 101 course material which I have authored specifically for that course."

CONCLUSION

Faculty have enjoyed a long tradition of ownership of literary works which they have authored. As higher education moves to distribute educational material electronically, new questions and responsibilities of ownership arise. If copyright ownership of an instructor's course material is not claimed, others may use that course material in ways which the author had not intended. Electronic distribution of course material requires some understanding of the nature of copyright ownership and the application of the formal procedures required to assert and preserve that ownership.