 | |
 |
 |
|
Copyright
Contents 1. Ownership
This webpage provides some information relevant to the generation of copyright material from research projects. The Library's copyright unit is responsible for administering JCU's obligations in respect of the use of copyright material. The ownership of copyright in a "work" (literary or otherwise) gives the owner the exclusive right to "copy" that work - through publication or other form of dissemination - and to license someone else to do likewise. The general rule is that the person who creates a work will be the owner of copyright in the work. However there are exceptions to this rule, most notably that where a work is created by an employee in the course of employment the employer will be the copyright owner. Academic institutions have traditionally waived their ownership of academic copyright, at least in research or scholarly texts. JCU's Intellectual Property Policy states:
[Note that authorship of a work, and hence copyright ownership in the first instance, is dealt with in the Statement and Guidelines on Research Practice.] JCU's policy is also to allow staff members to retain copyright ownership of teaching materials, whilst receiving from the owner a licence to use and to adapt the teaching materials:
Staff may therefore take the teaching materials they have written in the time they have spent at JCU with them when they leave, to be used without impediment except to the extent that they cannot grant an exclusive licence to another institution to exploit teaching materials (eg. in a commercial teaching program), given that they have already granted JCU a non-exclusive licence to do the same. The possibility of the University and the owner reaching agreement on some other terms is expressly left open (also at 3.4). Australia introduced moral rights protection in December 2000. Moral rights are non-transferable personal rights of creators of works; they cannot be traded as per (intellectual) property rights. They apply to literary materials, musical, artistic and dramatic works, computer programs and cinematograph films Creators have the following rights:
Moral rights apply except where they are specifically waived by the creator. This is so with the outcomes of research projects, and it is not unusual for clients or funding bodies (particularly with consultancies) to require as part of their funding conditions that JCU obtains an author's consent to have their moral rights waived (eg. they wish to publish all or part of a report without authorship being attributed). Where a staff member owns copyright in a work, s/he is free to publish it without reference to JCU. Helpful information on what an author can expect from a publishing contract (including aspects that are unacceptable) is supplied by The Australian Society of Authors. Research, Third Parties and Confidentiality In general, academic staff will have ownership of any research copyright that they generate. There is, however, one significant exception, namely that where a research project is governed by an agreement with a third party, so also will copyright ownership and exploitation be governed by that agreement. It is critical that staff make themselves aware of the terms, not only in respect of ownership, but also in respect of the right to publish, in any such agreement. It is not uncommon for bodies sponsoring research, especially where there is the possibility of commercial outcomes from a project, to insist on the right to vet works prior to publication, and to obtain amendments to or postponement of proposed publications if they contain potentially commercially valuable information. This becomes a critical issue where research students are involved (see section on Students). [See also the policy on Commercial Research and Consultancy Services, and the Guidelines on Confidentiality in Commercial Projects.] Computer software is covered by copyright, but an underpinning algorithm or business method may also be patentable - so long as it is novel and inventive, and has "utility in the field of economic endeavour" (see section on Patents). Ownership of copyright in literary and creative works by a staff member (see above) does not apply to copyright in computer software (it is treated in the same way as Patents). Datasets/bases are also covered by copyright in Australia. Research conducted under terms which vest copyright ownership in some entity other than JCU or the researcher (eg. a CRC research project) will result in that entity's ownership of the organised bodies of data generated as part of the research. Probably the most useful site for information on copyright is that of the Copyright Council. The Council publishes a wide range of Information Sheets on all aspects of nature, production and use of copyright materials, but also publishes papers on legislative changes and other topical issues.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1995 to 2000, James Cook University. All rights reserved. Terms of use