In accordance with established custom at institutions of higher learning, copyright ownership of textbooks, manuscripts, nonprint materials, etc., produced by the individual effort of the author, as well as any resulting royalties, accrue to the benefit of the author. If the University incurs some incremental costs during the preparation of the material, the author must reimburse the University for these expenses to obtain full equity in the copyright. (See next section for information pertaining specifically to computer software.)
When material has been prepared under a specific written contract, grant, or assigned project agreement, ownership of the copyright will be determined by the terms of that contract, grant, or project agreement. ("Assigned project" refers to a University project covered by a written assignment under which the assignee is allocated time to carry out the work.)
Written material such as lecture notes, manuscripts, technical articles, music scores, computer programs, maps, dramatic compositions, works of art, etc., which is publicly distributed without copyright notice or provision for recall, becomes public property, and the right to copyright is lost and cannot be restored. Faculty members are urged to place copyright notices on all material over which they wish to maintain control. Forms for copyright registration are available from the Vice Provost for Research.
Except for constraints imposed by funding agencies or the University, faculty members are free to publish results of their research and scientific investigations. Constraints, if any, imposed by the granting agencies or the University are indicated when the grants are made. It is the responsibility of the department chairperson or director to be aware, along with the faculty member, of any such contractual obligations. When in doubt, the chairperson or the academic director or college dean should refer the question to the Vice Provost for Research. Copyrighted theses and dissertations are the property of the authors. Individuals who wish to publish or reprint noncopyrighted theses must receive appropriate clearance from the author(s) and the Vice Provost for Research.
Additional information concerning these policies can be obtained from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, the University Policy and Procedures Manual, and the Research Policies and Procedures Guide.
