public, it cannot be copyrighted; the right to secure copyright is lost, at the time of publication, i.e., the date on which copies are first placed on sale, sold, or publicly distributed, if an adequate notice of copyright is not on the work at that time. The present legislation (U. S. Code, Title 17, Section 24) provides statutory copyright protection for a period of twenty-eight years from the date of first publication. A copyright may be renewed and extended upon application to the Copyright Office. Congress is currently (1971) considering revision of the copyright laws. Property rights in copyrightable material (and the right to register under the statute) may be secured for a published work by initially publishing the work in printed or otherwise processed form bearing a proper copyright notice. A publication in order to obtain statutory copyright must contain the notice as prescribed in the statute, and when this occurs the copyright is accordingly protected by the statute. A formal registration in the Copyright Office constitutes further evidence of the copyright, but an author who fails to put a copyright notice on his work before making a general distribution (but not a limited distribution) of it has lost the right absolutely even though he may thereafter try to obtain a copyright registration. Under certain conditions copyrights on some unpublished works may be registered by filing the appropriate application form and depositing one complete copy with the Copyright Office. Unpublished books and similar works are not included in this category. The various forms for registering copyrightable material of several media may be obtained from the Register of Copyrights, U. S. Copyright Office, Washington, D. C. 20025. Under common law, as contrasted with statutory law, copyrightable material which is not placed on sale, sold, or publicly distributed is the sole property of the author and may not be reproduced or used without his permission. The common law copyright, however, is a tenuous safeguard and is effective only so long as the author keeps the manuscript unto himself. Otherwise the risk of inadvertent publication without notice and hence dedication to the public may become a reality. He may, however, disclose it to a limited number of people or use it in a small class and effectively limit its circulation. Such "limited publication" should include an appropriate notation that the material is being shown or distributed for limited purposes to a limited group only. But a general unrestricted distribution of the material without a copyright notice will lose the common law copyright, as well as preclude the obtaining of the statutory copyright, for it constitutes a dedication to the public. III Materials Subject to Copyright The following types of material now or in the near future may be subject to copyright: 1. Books, journal articles, texts, glossaries, bibliographies, study guides, laboratory manuals, syllabi, tests, and proposals. 2. Lectures, musical or dramatic compositions, and unpublished scripts. 3. Films, film strips, charts, transparencies, and other visual aids. 4. Video and audio tapes and cassettes. 5. Live video or audio broadcasts. 6. Programmed instruction materials. 7. Computer programs. 8. Other materials. Although copyright law does not specifically mention computer programs, the U. S. Copyright Office has recognized since 1964 that computer programs are copyrightable, and numerous programs have been copyrighted. It should be noted that certain computer programs meeting the criteria for an invention may be patentable. IV Statement of University Copyright Policy An institution seeking to clarify its position on the rights to and disposition of copyrightable material should develop a statement of copyright policy. This statement should be broad; it should be brief. Administrative procedures should be separate and apart from the policy statement. The statement may acknowledge the privilege of university personnel (faculty, staff, and students) on their own individual initiative to write or otherwise generate copyrightable materials to which they have the sole rights of ownership and disposition. The statement may also cover the disposition of rights to those materials generated with significant use of university facilities and resources or as a result of assigned university duties or with support by a third-party sponsor. A general statement on royalty participation may be a part of the policy. The administrative body responsible for interpretation and administration of the copyright policy may be set forth. V Definition of Copyrightable Materials An institution, as a guide to faculty, staff, and students, should define the types of copyrightable material covered by the copyright policy and interpret the provisions that apply to certain kinds of copyrightable materials. A list of types of materials is given earlier in these guidelines under Materials Subject to Copyright. VI Determination of Rights to Copyrightable To determine the disposition of rights to copyrightable materials developed by university personnel it may be helpful to assess these materials within the framework of the following four categories: 1. Individual Effort Rights to copyrightable material generated as a result of individual initiative, not as a specific university assignment and only incidental use of university facilities or resources, should normally reside with the author. 2. University-Assisted Individual Effort Where the university provides partial support of an individual effort resulting in copyrightable material by contributing significant faculty time, facilities, or university resources it is reasonable to consider joint rights to ownership and disposition of these materials and a sharing of royalty income. Some universities may find it desirable in the interest of simplification to merge this category with category 1 above. 3. University-Supported Efforts Ownership of copyrightable material developed as a result of assigned university duty may reside with the university, although some sharing of royalty income with the author may be appropriate in certain instances. 4. Sponsor-Supported Efforts The grant or contract under which copyrightable materials are generated may contain specific provisions with respect to the disposition of rights in these materials. These provisions merit attention at the time the agreement is negotiated. Persons who may produce copyrightable materials under sponsor-supported projects should clearly understand their rights and obligations and, if so indicated, their agreement should be obtained before the institution enters into the contract or grant. Similarly, the appropriate terms and conditions should be brought to their attention when the work is initiated. Generally, the agreement between the sponsor and the university will vest title to copyrightable materials in the university, with the sponsor retaining a royalty free license for the sponsor's own usage. In other circumstances the agreement may specify that the materials be placed in the public domain,* may assign all rights to the university, or the sponsor may retain all rights. Even in the exceptional situation where the sponsor retains all rights, sharing of royalty income between the sponsor and the university may be appropriate, particularly when the project involves institutional cost sharing. The nature and extent of author participation in royalty income derived by the university from copyrighted materials generated on sponsored programs may be subject to sponsor regulations. The author, university, and sponsor normally relinquish rights to copyright articles submitted to scholarly and professional journals, many of which are copyrighted. Advance arrangements should be made with the publisher if the author, university, or sponsor is to retain title or other rights to the copyright on the material submitted. It is desirable to define in advance the disposition of rights to those copyrightable materials to be generated through university- or sponsor-supported efforts. The *Such a requirement is normally undesirable from the standpoint of the sponsor, the institution, and the author. disposition of rights to materials developed through partially university-assisted individual efforts may prove more difficult to determine, particularly in advance. VII Determination of Equities The determination of the nature and extent of participation in income resulting from royalties or assignment of copyrighted materials will follow in a general way the four categories of ownership described earlier. Income derived from materials resulting from the individual initiative of college or university personnel should normally accrue to the author alone. However, when these individual efforts are significantly assisted by the use of university facilities or resources, institutional policy may stipulate some degree of income sharing between the author and the university. In those instances where copyrighted materials are generated as a result of assigned university duty, institutional policy may specify that the university is the sole recipient of the derived income. Some institutions have a royalty-sharing policy on patents. An institution may in a similar manner adopt a policy that provides for the crediting of part or all of the royalty from copyrightable materials to the authors and/or their academic departments. In some instances the institution may elect to leave copyrights with the author, even though the university has supported the work that generated the copyrightable materials. If the development of the copyrighted materials has been supported by a sponsor, the university and the author are obligated to adhere to the conditions of the grant or contract as stipulated by the agreement. Income derived from copyrighted materials will be handled in accordance with institutional policies unless special contractual or grant requirements prevail. In those cases where the sponsor may require the return of part of the income derived from sale of sponsor-supported materials which are copyrighted, institutional cost sharing should be considered together with other factors in determining the distribution of such royalty income. If the institution receives all or part of the income derived from the sale of such sponsor-supported materials, this income normally would be handled in accordance with established |