Intellectual Rights

Members

Faculty Chair: Richard Felnagle, MCC
Co-Chair: Janice Bradshaw, DIST

Dorothy Cope, PC
Pam Davenport, CGCC
Frank Gonzales, MCC
Mary Lou Mosley, PVCC
Linda Rosenthal, GOV. BOARD
Jill Seymour, GCC
Naomi Story, DIST

Charge

Intellectual Rights examines the impact of the federal copyright law on the educational community. Included in the study are rights and responsibilities of faculty and staff in the use and reproduction of printed and video material as well as computer software. Ownership rights of employees who author materials at the workplace is also under discussion. Policy recommendations are expected regarding the issue of faculty ownership of materials they produce.

Introduction

The committee had three general goals for the year. The first was to continue efforts made in previous years to promote an increased awareness of the ways in which the copyright law affects classroom teachers. The second was to attempt to develop some copyright guidelines to assist developers of multimedia instructional materials. The third was to assist Janice Bradshaw, MCCCD General Counsel, to develop a policy statement regarding proprietary rights.

Year in Review

Increasing awareness of copyright laws. In the first area, the committee's chief activity was to sponsor a two-day visit to the District by Ivan Bender, a noted copyright attorney and counsel for the Association for Information, Media, and Equipment. Bender visited the District on February 10th and 11th. Activities included tours of facilities at Mesa and Glendale, where there were meetings with faculty developers and staff to discuss copyright issues. Bender also made an interactive presentation via the Maricopa Video Conference Network (VCN) to several colleges. The presentation was videotaped and is available through the MCLI.
Defining copyright guidelines for development of multimedia. The committee experienced considerable frustration because as yet, no truly meaningful guidelines have yet been developed by any significant national authorities. However, the committee was interested to learn that the Consortium of College and University Media Centers is sponsoring a national meeting in Washington D.C. in June to begin work on such guidelines. Ivan Bender is directly involved in this conference, and as a result of Bender's visit to our District, Mary Lou Mosley has been invited to be a presenter and a full participant representing the community college view (and MCCCD) at this conference.
Developing a policy statement on proprietary rights. The committee again experienced frustration trying to reach a consensus on the details of a statement of proprietary ownership.

Recommendations for Next Year

The committee feels that the Intellectual Rights Committee should go on hiatus for the next year. Our hope is that in the next year, the Consortium will serve as the catalyst for the creation of meaningful copyright guidelines for the use of multimedia, such as those produced for off-air videotaping. After that time, the Intellectual Rights Committee should be reconvened to study those guidelines and assist in their interpretation for faculty developers in the District.
A task force should be formed specifically to address the issue of proprietary rights. Such a task force should include representatives of the Deans of Instruction, faculty developers, staffs of faculty development centers (such as the Center for Teaching and Learning at Mesa), the District Legal staff, and other interested groups. The task force should be specifically charged with evolving a philosophy of ownership to shape the creation of an official District policy.

Index

Ocotillo Report '94-- Intellectual Rights

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c 1994, Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI) Maricopa County Community College District, Arizona