Assignment: Copyright Infringement and Intellectual Property
Task: Submit to complete this assignment
This assignment will assess Competency 3: Explain copyright laws and intellectual property issues as they pertain to academic affairs.
Directions: Imagine that your institution is considering moving a number of its online courses to Open Educational Resources, or materials that are freely available on the internet, instead of using textbooks. You know that your faculty members have the expertise to find great resources, but you are concerned that they may not be experts in copyright law. Compose a memo to faculty members at a for-profit institution that addresses the following questions:
1. What is the difference between copyright and intellectual property?
2. How are copyrights and intellectual property created by a faculty member or a student, and who owns the copyright or intellectual property?
3. How may copyright infringement occur at a for-profit institution when the same use of materials would be considered "fair use" at a public or nonprofit institution?
4. How may a faculty member use instructional materials that they previously developed for a class that they taught at another institution?
5. How may the instructor use materials from research that they completed as a student at another institution?