IP FAQ

IP FAQ

What is intellectual property and what are copyrights?
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO):

"Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs... ." In the context of OER, this intellectual property is referred to as "content objects." These objects include all course materials such as lecture slides, textbooks, video lectures, student notes, syllabi, exams, student coursework, photographs, graphs, figures, etc. Holders of intellectual property governed by copyright law have the exclusive rights to copy, prepare derivative works, sell, distribute, perform, or display these works.

What license will Michigan use for OER materials?
Open.Michigan materials will be published under an Open Content License.

How does Open.Michigan handle the intellectual property rights of contributors?
Faculty members, staff, and students maintain the copyright to the work they create. These contributors grant Open.Michigan a non-exclusive license to distribute the work. Those who agree to these terms sign a permission form allowing the work to be published and distributed under a Creative Commons license.

What materials need to be cleared?
We must document the intellectual property status of all published materials, whether those materials are in the public domain or are copyrighted by an individual or publisher.

What is an content object?
A content object is the expression of information that may take the form of a variety of media: photograph, graph, figure, chart, slide, video, audio, text, formula. content objects must be properly cleared before publishing on the OER site.

What does "clearing" mean?
Clearing means documenting the status of the content objects. This documentation can lead to using the existing content object, replacing it with a similar content object, or removing it and inserting a citation to the object.

How can instructors aid in the OER publishing process?
Instructors are urged to provide as much information as to the origin of their course materials as possible.

How is Ctools different than OER?
Ctools is an authenticated learning management system (LMS). Because access to Ctools class materials is limited to students enrolled in that particular course, copyrighted materials can be used under a "fair use" claim. OER is a free and open publication, and thus faces stricter copyright standards. All issues surrounding intellectual property will be resolved before the OER course site is published. This may include getting permission to use particular course materials, commissioning a new object to take the place of a protected work, or removing an object.

What distinctions are made between different members of the university concerning copyright ownership?

 * 1) Faculty As a general rule, faculty (including adjuncts, part-time faculty, and emeriti) hold the rights to the scholarly works they produce, both research papers and teaching materials. There are three main exceptions where the University may own the copyright. The first is material (scholarly or administrative) that has been directly assigned or has been created as a specific duty of employment. The second is material created with the support of external grants (government or foundation), in which case the terms of the grant are controlling as far as copyright ownership is concerned. The third is material created with the support of "unusual" University resources, where "unusual" refers to money or facilities provided by the University which in quantity or kind go beyond what is normally made available to one's cohorts in one's department or other academic unit.

If you are unsure whether the support was "unusual" and therefore whether you are entitled to the copyright in your work, you should ask your department chair or unit director for a determination, preferably in writing. If you disagree and are unable to resolve the matter informally, you are entitled to file a formal appeal with the Office of Provost.


 * 1) Staff Materials created by staff as part of their job responsibilities are considered "work made for hire". The copyright in such work automatically belongs to the University.


 * 1) Students The copyright on academic materials (term papers, theses, etc.) created by students in their capacity as students belongs to them. If students create material as a result of employment with the University, for example as graduate student instructors or research assistants, the copyright in such work belongs to the University.


 * 1) Others U-M's general policy is to claim copyright ownership of materials created for the University by persons who are not U-M faculty, staff, or students. However, this is subject to contractual agreement to be worked out between the parties. Any such copyright agreement must be in writing and signed by the University and the other party.


 * Resident physicians are considered staff of the hospital, not faculty or students. This is consistent with their treatment in many other domains, so the IP issues here are of minimal concern, as they are for all non-faculty and non-student employees. More information on UM policies at http://copyright.umich.edu/official-policy.html

When providing an online citation for a object that is replaced, is deep linking ok?
Deep linking is generally OK as long as the link does not circumvent any authentication processes.