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Copyright Management
Guidelines for Management and Marketing of Copyrighted Works
Sec. 1 Rationale for Guidelines. The U. T. System Board of Regents finds that works protected by copyright created at the component institutions are valuable assets that promote and further the creation and dissemination of knowledge through research, teaching and publication. Careful management of these assets will benefit the authors, the citizens of Texas, state government, the component institutions, and the U. T. System.
Sec. 2 Author-Owned Works. If component institutions invest in copyright works that the authors will own under Regents' Rules and Regulations concerning Intellectual Property, they must protect their investments and, with the authors, manage such author-owned copyrights to facilitate institutional access to the works and preserve rights to make nonprofit educational uses of them. Such works may be authored by professionals, faculty, non-faculty researchers (researchers who do not teach), and undergraduate and graduate students.
2.1 Allocation of Rights. For projects that may involve significant resource contributions by the institution, components institutions and authors will agree to allocate rights to use the resulting works, allocate costs and share benefits from commercialization, as appropriate in each case. Institutions should:
a. determine what constitutes significant kinds or amounts of resource contribution;
b. identify appropriate institutional uses for the work;
c. develop check-points in the creative process that will alert authors and administrators of the need to enter an agreement to allocate rights to use works and share costs and benefits from commercialization;
d. establish a default allocation of interests including a right to use the work, to obtain reimbursement of contributions and to share in profits in the absence of agreement; and
e. take into account the effects of third party funding, if any.
2.2 Electronic Distribution. Component institutions and authors should explore mutually beneficial opportunities for electronic distribution of scholarly works within the university community.
2.3 Reservation of Rights in Articles. Authors should manage their copyrights to preserve rights to make nonprofit educational uses of their works. For example, authors may request that for-profit publishers to whom the author submits articles for publication use one of the the following copyright notices, or something similar, on the author's article.
If a publisher agrees to use a notice like these, university professionals, faculty, students and staff would be able to make copies of the author's article for research or classroom use without permission, even though the author may have assigned copyright to the publisher as a condition of publication.Copyright [date] [Publisher] Permission is granted for nonprofit educational uses of this [article]. All other uses require permission from the publisher.
Copyright [date] [Publisher] Permission is granted for nonprofit educational and library duplication and distribution, including but not limited to reserves and course packs made by nonprofit or for-profit copy shops. This permission is in addition to rights granted under Sections 107, 108 and other provisions of the U.S. Copyright Act. To use this work electronically, please link to [URL].
2.4 Reservation of Rights in Drafts. Another example of copyright management that helps to achieve the purposes of these guidelines is retention by professionals, faculty, non-faculty researchers and students of copyright in their pre-publication drafts. This allows pre-print distribution within the university community and the creation by the author of derivative (new) works from pre-publication drafts. The intention to retain rights should be clearly stated in an agreement with the publisher. The following clause could be added to a publisher's existing agreement:Anything to the contrary in this agreement notwithstanding, Author shall retain copyright in each and every draft of the [manuscript] except the final draft as published by Publisher, and reserves all rights in such pre-publication drafts.
Refer to the Copyright Crash Course section on Copyright Management for more information on this subject.
Sec. 3 Board Ownership - Work for Hire. On some occasions when a component institution hires a professional, faculty member, non-faculty researcher or student specifically to create a work that the author would otherwise own under Subsection 2.3 of the Intellectual Property Policy, it may be unclear that this is a work for hire. If this is ever the case, the author should execute an acknowledgment that the work is within the scope of employment and that the Board will own copyright in the work to avoid later confusion over ownership.
Sec. 4 Board Ownership - Works Authored by Staff. Works authored by employees other than professionals, faculty, non-faculty researchers and students are owned by the Board or jointly owned by the Board and other authors
4.1 Further Mission of Board. Component institutions should manage copyrights owned by the Board under the Regents' Rules and Regulations concerning Intellectual Property Policy to further the goals and mission of the U. T. System and the Board, such as wide and free distribution.
4.2 Commercial Publication. Component institutions should carefully consider the consequences of commercial marketing of scholarly and educational works. Commercial publication or distribution may severely limit access to works for others in the university community or the public generally.
4.3 Reservation Rights in Drafts. For certain works, use of the copyright notices above, or retention of rights in prepublication drafts may be appropriate.