Update Your IP Policies To Address Distance Learning And Avoid Disputes
August 1, 2000
When Harvard Law School Professor Arthur Miller took to the airwaves years
ago on “Miller’s Court,” explaining legal matters to public television
viewers, Harvard officials no doubt welcomed the publicity and attention his
appearances generated. But last summer Harvard attempted to draw the line at
Miller’s plans to offer lectures over the Internet though an on-line
university.
“The idea that professors can skim the cream, stick a course on the
Internet, and get all the gains isn’t acceptable,” a Harvard dean told The
Wall Street Journal. Soon after Miller’s planned Internet appearances were
announced, Harvard amended its faculty manual to forbid participation in
Internet-based universities without Harvard’s permission, the Journal
reported.
The Miller v. Harvard flap illustrates the problems that can arise if
colleges and universities do not have complete, up-to-date policies addressing
ownership of intellectual property. Schools across the country are recognizing
the importance of protecting faculty-produced books, articles, lectures and
inventions. Detailed policies are one way to safeguard an academic institution’s
proprietary interests in these valuable assets.
Protection of intellectual property is an important part of a university’s
broader mission of fostering research and teaching. IP policies facilitate the
dissemination of scholarly achievements and encourage excellence and innovation
by identifying and protecting the rights of institutions, faculty, staff and
students.
Protecting academic work product also is part of a broader trend. In 1999,
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted a record 169,154 patent documents,
including 153,493 utility patents, 14,732 design patents, 421 plant patents, 448
reissue patents, and 60 statutory invention registrations. Annual grants for all
patents increased by 3.6 percent over 1998’s total (163,208). Utility patent
grants (patents for inventions) increased by 4 percent.
Colleges and universities should be a part of these growing efforts to
protect intellectual property. Institutions that do not take steps to safeguard
their faculty and student accomplishments risk losing the potentially valuable
financial rewards that such work can produce. Because colleges and universities
provides resources and assistance that facilitate faculty research, policies
that protect the results of this research allow institutions a return on their
investments. An institution-wide IP policy also can help colleges and
universities avoid disputes over ownership of written and scientific work by
faculty and students.
Holland & Knight lawyers have experience in drafting such policies. Our
professionals work with college and university administrators to formulate
policies that safeguard the institution’s proprietary interests and balance
faculty interests in research freedom and potential commercialization.
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