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U.T. Houston

U.T. Houston
E-Press
 
 
 

The University of Texas Houston Electronic Press

Intellectual Property Considerations
Intellectual property is the product of a scholar's creative activities. It is this property that contributes to his or her professional and academic reputation and may often be a direct source of income. Thus, it is imperative that the integrity of this material be protected and its use and possible disposition be associated with appropriate levels of compensation. It is the role of copyright law to provide this protection. 

Copyright in a work vests initially in the author or authors of the work. Numerous individuals and/or entities may contribute to the creation of a specific work; thus, the copyright, of that work would be jointly owned. When the work is created as a "work-for-hire", the employer or individual(s) for whom the work was prepared would be considered the author(s) unless the parties expressly agreed otherwise in a written agreement. (See Section 201 of the U.S. Copyright Act.) 

To define the shared responsibilities of authors and to ensure that publishers receive a just return on their commitment to publish and distribute copyrighted works, all parties contributing to the creation of intellectual property, its publication and use must make explicit agreements. 

Ownership

A through discussion of copyright issues as governed by the U.S. Copyright Act and the U.T. System Regents Rules and Regulations is available from the U.T. System Office of General Counsel: Copyright Management Center.  It is strongly recommended that faculty members enter into an intellectual property agreement with the University prior to beginning development of any scholarly work.  

Faculty created works will generally fall into one of the following three categories of ownership: 
 
 

    Faculty Ownership

      The U.T. System Intellectual Property Policy permits faculty ownership of scholarly, artistic, literary, musical and educational materials within the author's field of expertise. 

    Joint Ownership

      When University employees other than faculty or professional staff contribute copyrightable expression to the production of faculty authored works, ownership of the copyright in these works will vest jointly in the U.T. System Board of Regents and the faculty authors. If any non-System contributors (i.e. independent contractors) are hired without a contract like the Work Made for Hire Agreement for commissioned works, they too will be joint owners. Since the creation of multimedia scholarly works will often be a team effort that extensively utilizes non-faculty personnel, it is likely that these works will be jointly owned. A joint ownership agreement must be signed by both the faculty authors and the University at the start of projects in order to address the many very important copyright issues.

    Work for Hire

      The Board of Regents owns work(s) 
      • created by an employee within the scope of their employment (Note the exception presented above relating to faculty authored works in their areas of expertise.)
      • commissioned specifically by the Board of Regents.
      A Work Made for Hire Agreement must be made between the faculty authors, the University, and any other contributors including independent contractors.

Incorporating Copyrighted Works of Others

Authors of multimedia works that incorporate in their works copyrighted materials owned by others must acquire the appropriate clearance for use of these materials from their copyright owners. Information pertaining to fair use and the acquisition of usage rights is presented in Clearing Rights for Multimedia Works.
 

Publishing Agreements and Options

In order for the University of Texas Houston Electronic Press to publish works on line, a publishing agreement must be established between the copyright owners and the University. This agreement must include the following: 
 
  • a clear grant to the University of the rights needed to publish the work on line.
  • permit academic authors the right to use the works as a basis for other works.
  • establish publishing/distribution options.
  • establish rights to revenue sharing if applicable.