Who Owns the Copyright to Faculty-Created Web Sites?: The Work-For-Hire Doctrine's Applicability to Internet Resources Created for Distance Learning and Traditional Classroom Courses

Abstract

The Internet has spawned an increased interest in distance education and in using technology to enhance traditional classroom courses. It has also created new markets for faculty-created works. This Article explores who owns these materials. The Article addresses the competing interests of faculty and universities. Educators are concerned about academic freedom and control of their work product. Universities are concerned about competition from their own faculty and the continued right to use faculty-created material in which they have invested considerable resources. Both sides are interested in who gets paid when others seek to use these materials. The Article suggests that courts recognize a teachers' exception to the work-for-hire doctrine, vesting ownership in faculty-creators. It also offers proposals for written agreements which allocate rights between faculty and universities.