Intellectual Property

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1.0    Purpose

This policy establishes guidelines for the ownership, use, rights, and responsibilities of intellectual property created by college employees or students or with the use of college support.  

2.0    Revision History

3.0    Persons Affected

3.1    All Casper College employees

3.2    All Casper College students

3.3    Anyone conducting activities under the supervision of college personnel

4.0    Policy

The policy of Casper College is to ensure the following.

4.1    The college encourages and promotes creativity, innovation, research, and scholarship.

4.2    The college protects the investment of public resources that provide for the development of intellectual property.

4.3    The college has guidelines for the distribution of income received for the sale of intellectual property.

4.4    Intellectual property rights of authors and the college are clarified.

Ownership resides with the author when the following criteria applies.

4.4.1    The work is the result of the author’s initiative, not requested by the college, without substantial use of college resources.

Ownership resides with the college when any of the following criteria applies.

4.4.2    The work is created within the scope of the employee’s job duties or the student’s enrollment.

4.4.3    The work is specially ordered or commissioned where the parties involved agreed in writing that the work is considered a work made for hire.

4.4.4    The work is the product of a specific contract or assignment made in the course of the author’s employment or enrollment.

4.4.5    The author created the work with substantial use of college resources.

Joint ownership occurs when any of the following criteria applies.

4.4.6    The college and the author enter into an equitable agreement for joint ownership or royalty sharing prior to the creation of intellectual property with potential commercial value, or as soon as possible if extenuating circumstances barred a precreation agreement. The agreement will provide the college with at minimum a perpetual license to use the work without compensation to the authors for such use.

4.4.7    The college will share in any financial gain if an employee is granted full or partial leave with pay to write, develop, produce, or invent intellectual property. The college’s share will be negotiated prior to the employee taking leave.

Other ownership

4.4.8    Ownership of works created or as a result of activity supported by a grant or contract with federal, state or local agencies, nonprofit entities, for-profit businesses, or a private gift to the college will be established according to an agreement signed with any of these supporters.

5.0    Definitions

5.1    Intellectual Property. Creative works, ideas, discoveries, and inventions that include, but are not limited to, that which can be protected under patent, trademark, copyright, or other applicable laws such as literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, software, apps, multimedia presentations, and inventions. It does not include course materials or student work.

5.2    Substantial Use of College Resources. Use of labor, materials, stipends, facilities, equipment, or college time that are in addition to that which would typically be provided to the author in the author’s role as an employee or student. Substantial use does not include the use of facilities or equipment commonly available to faculty, staff, or the public, such as libraries, Internet access, office space, office equipment, computers, standard software, or student scholarships.

5.3    College Time. Time devoted to normal or assigned functions relating to employment.

5.4    Course Materials. Instructor created materials used to teach a Casper College course to its students including lectures, lecture notes, study guides, bibliographies, visual aids, images, diagrams, multimedia presentations, exams, web-ready content, educational software, and textbooks. These materials are not generally considered works sponsored by or for hire and, therefore, considered owned by the faculty member who created the course material

5.5    Student Works. Student work created as part of a Casper College course for which the student is enrolled, including papers, artistic and musical works, and other creative works made in the instructional process. These works generally belong to the student if they were created without the use of substantial college resources.

5.6    Author. A person who contributes in a substantial manner to the creation of intellectual property.

5.7    Owner. The persons or entity with legal ownership of intellectual property. This may or may not be the author, depending on the resources used to create the intellectual property and any agreements made.

6.0    Responsibilities

6.1    Affected persons are responsible for notifying the appropriate person as soon as possible of the development of intellectual property.

6.2    Supervisors and the vice president of administrative services (VPAS) are responsible for being aware of the development of intellectual property on campus and for notifying the president when appropriate.

6.3    The president is responsible for maintaining compliance with this policy.

7.0    Procedures

7.1    Affected persons notify their supervisor and the VPAS as soon as possible of the creation of intellectual property that may be subject to this policy. Disclosure prior to creation is preferable when possible. Prompt disclosure allows for clarification and protects all parties involved.

7.2    The supervisors or the VPAS notifies the president who is responsible for initiating the process to determine ownership. The president has final authority to determine ownership. Once ownership is determined, the college will develop a written agreement designating ownership and any rights, responsibilities, and equity or revenue sharing between the college and the owner.