1. The Influence of Intellectual Property Rights Over Distance Education Jonathan Alger University of Michigan April 17, 2002 Copyright Jonathan Alger, 2002. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish rquires written permission from the author.

2. 2 Legal and Policy Challenges Ownership and control of course materials and courseware Use of third-party works Contract Issues (working with outside companies)

3. 3 Ownership and Control of Online Course Materials and Courseware Work-for-hire doctrine Academic tradition and academic freedom New policy approaches (AAU, ACE, AAUP, many institutions) -- e.g., use of “substantial” or “unusual” university resources; commissioning –See draft policy from University of Michigan at www.copyright.umich.edu Need for written agreements -- unbundling the rights in copyright; recognizing community of interests

4. 4 Rights that Faculty Care About Ability to edit and control presentation of their work Ability to change and update materials over time Ability to create derivative or related works Professional recognition and credit Right to take materials they create when they leave for another institution Right to participate in commercialization (decisions and royalties) Dispute resolution (informal and formal)

5. 5 Rights Institutions Care About Use of works for educational and administrative purposes Timely revision and maintenance of electronic course materials for continued use Costs and cost recovery Control of use of university’s name, seal, or marks Preventing conflicts of interest/commitment

6. 6 Use of Third-Party Works Protections for classroom teaching in traditional settings don’t apply (but many try to replicate classroom setting with password-protected sites for enrolled students; e.g., U-M’s Coursetools) Use of links (but many problems with dead links) “TEACH” Act would extend protection to use of many materials in distance-education settings

7. 7 Contract Issues (Working with Outside Companies) How to deal with the “intermingling” of intellectual property (e.g., with vendors’ code) How and when University name and marks can be used (IP rights may flow both ways) Responsibility for copyright clearance Licenses for third-party materials must be sufficiently broad to cover all intended uses

8. 8 Concluding Thought Pedagogical considerations, not intellectual property considerations, should ideally drive what we teach and how we teach in distance education (just as in the traditional classroom).