Technology+Report

2011 Copyright and Intellectual Property Guidelines for ESC Region 12

Copyright and Intellectual Property issues need to be closely monitored and frequently addressed to ensure that ESC Region 12 does not inadvertently compromise compliance with these laws. I have put together some guidelines for center-wide distribution and also recommend a one-day professional development course to discuss these guidelines in greater detail.


 * All software purchases must go through Technical Services who will assess the software license agreement and ensure that if simultaneous use is allowable, it is enforced. Otherwise, they will need to monitor adherence to the one license per workstation rule. This will also ensure that only legitimate software is installed on all workstations.
 * It is acceptable for an employee to make copies of software programs for backup uses such as damage, loss, or theft; however they must not be circulated. Also, all software that is loaned out should be deleted after it has been used and returned to technical services.
 * It is allowable for specialists and teachers to display videos and commercial music/media during workshops as long as they are instructionally based. As long as music comes from a legitimate website that allows users to download free music for classroom-based projects, it is acceptable. With use of media please refer to [|www.halldavidson.org] for a list of guidelines.
 * It is allowable for specialists to use excerpts from published books/novels as long as they are used as part of the lesson and not in lieu of the purchase of that book/novel.
 * It is strictly prohibited to use copyrighted material for uses other than instructional purposes. For example, use of a Disney character on a flier is inappropriate and improper.
 * It is allowable to post copyright material online if it is used for instructional purposes as long as it meets the requirement of TEACH. All faculty and staff must be familiar with the TEACH Act of 2002 which governs the use of copyright material for distance education. Specifically, the content must be password protected on a managed site and available only to students in the classroom for instructional purposes.
 * Use of images, videos, and presentations from the Internet for instructional use are permissible if they are downloaded according to the terms and conditions of the website and are not duplicated.

Another important facet of the Copyright Act is intellectual property. It is important for all staff at ESC Region 12 to understand the specific rules governing internal copyrightable work since this is a common occurrence. When an employee creates a copyrightable work such as workshop materials, workbooks and computer programs in order to fulfill the duties of the employee’s job, ESC Region 12 is legally the “author” (Stroder, 2006). These specific works are known as “works made for hire” (Stroder, 2006). These works remain the property of ESC Region 12 and can only be used by employees with permission of ESC Region 12 unless it wishes to transfer ownership to the employee, which can be done with a contract or license.

There is a fundamental difference between a copyrightable work and a patentable process or invention. A copyrightable work is the material created by the employee, whereas a patentable process is the actual process for creating the work, also known as invention. The vital takeaway is that materials are owned by ESC Region 12 but inventions are owned by the inventor or employee. If an employee is hired by ESC Region 12 to invent and creates an invention, ESC Region 12 obtains a “shop right” license in the invention allowing “nonexclusive, perpetual, world-wide, royalty-free” use (Stroder, 2006). Also, when ESC Region 12 hires a third party contractor to do work, the contract with the contractor needs to specify that ESC Region 12 not only has __rights__ to use the work but that the actual __ownership__ will transfer from the contractor to ESC Region 12 once the work is complete. It is important that ESC Region 12 cover these issues upfront in the employment/contractor contract so that all parties involved understand these terms and conditions and the likelihood of issues arising later are mitigated.

Reference List

Davidson, H. (2005). Copyright primer for administrators. //Technology & Learning//, 25(11), S2-S8.

Stroder, R.S. (2006). What every school should know about intellectual property. //Education Digest//, 71(6), 35-41.

Wikipedia. Retrieved August 7, 2011, from []