HIT: Copyright question

[Bonnie LaClave <blaclav@IN-MOTION.NET>]

Hello Friends!
        Thanks again to all who responded to my copyright question. I have a
teaching friend who has developed some technology class materials and has
been told she can't have them published because they belong to the school.
Here is a representative sample of the responses I received.  Thanks again
for your help!

Under the "Works for Hire" rule, the Coordinator may be correct.  If
these materials were developed "in the course of her employment" i.e. for
a class she taught for the school district, no matter what time of day or
where the materials were developed they could probably be claimed as the
property of the school district.  Universities claim this right all the
time, but school districts seldom do. Advise your friend to spend $200
for an hour of time with an attorney who specializes in Intellectual
Property (DO NOT go to a general attorney for this important conference!)
It could be money VERY well spent.
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I'd for sure check with a knowledgeable lawyer (don't assume all have
knowledge in this area).  In our state, Iowa, (with a strong legal
precedence based on non-educational cases involving Rockwell-Collins) it is
my understanding that not only is the product the property of the developer
but even if the school district pays someone to develop materials -- the
only thing they have purchased is the ability to use it in the manner in
which they have agreed (and paid for).  The copyright to the material is
the property of the individual employee unless a specific contract grants
the rights to someone else.
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Two things:
1.  Check the contract.
2.  Call the human resources or personnel department (superintendent) in
the district.  I can not say yes or no.  I can say that when I worked for
a corporation I had to sign something that said that if I invented
something, the corporation would be the owner.  They also owned the
copyright of the videotapes that I produced (for them).
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It may depend on her employment contract. I've had a couple which included
a clause that anything written during the term of employment belonged to
the employer, regardless of what it was or when/where it was actually written.
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What does her contract say? This is very important! Do they OWN the work
she does for them? Some companies DO specify this in their contracts.
It's *your* work, but *they* own it. However, you must have it in
***writing***. This also happens with universities with student and staff
research- the school owns the work.
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I know that many corporations have this policy, but this is the first
time that I have ever heard of this in an educational setting.  Is this
policy publiched  in your teacher handbook or available in a policy
manual?  When did this policy go into force?  Was she made aware of this
policy?  She may want to contact an attorney that is versed in copyright
law.  That may settle the question.  Company policy can not supercede
federal law.
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Did the person use school district equipment to develop the materials?

If she did, then the school district may have a point.  I am always
EXTREMELY carefully to use my own equipment, software, and time when
developing materials I will copyright under my name.  If I used any of
the school's resources, I would not be comfortable copyrighting the
material in my name.
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This guy is all wrong.  The author of the material owns the copyright as
soon as she commits her ideas to some written form, (paper, disk, etc.)
No one can tell her not to publish the information, or that she doesn't
own it.  In order to give anyone else rights to publish your creation,
you have to have a contractual agreement.  And even in that case, tell
her to only grant rights to first priniting, but retain the rights to
use the material in any way she sees fit after that.
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I work for the Mailbox magazine, and we publish teacher's materials ALL
THE TIME.  It's ALL WE DO, as a matter of fact!  This person has some
semi-accurate information.  Perhaps that school system has a clause in
their contract declaring ownership of the teacher's materials.  She should
check this out.  Many large corporations have clauses like this so their
scientists or writers do not publish materials outside of the company.
Our in-house writers sign a similar contract.  If it is not stated in her
contract, her work is indeed hers, and she can choose to submit/sell it
for publication if she wishes.  I hope this helps her!  Good luck!
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If she can document that she did all the work at home, not on school time
OR with school materials (including a home copy of school-owned software)
then I think she's got a point. But if she used anything owned by the
school, she may be in trouble, altho' I think this guy is being a PITA --
most teachers would be hard-pressed to publish anything under his rules!!
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Bonnie LaClave                  Phone 765-436-2333
Library Media Specialist        Fax  765-436-2630
Thorntown Elementary
200 Mill Street
Thorntown, IN 46071
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