Pima County Community College District Regulation

Regulation Title:  Copyright Ownership
Regulation Number:  RG-2702/A
Effective Date: 1/14/91
Approval Date:  1/14/91
Review Date(s):   6/16/97
Revision Date(s):  6/16/97
Sponsoring Unit/Department:  Policy and Governance
Policy Title(s) & No(s).: Copyright, BP-2701
Legal Reference: Copyright Revision Act of 1976, P.O. 94-553, 17 U.S.C.
Cross Reference:             

The Pima County Community College District's Copyright Ownership Policy (the 'Policy') is implemented and promoted by the following regulation. The Policy and this regulation apply to all employees of the College (whether faculty, staff, student employees or other employees) as well as to any persons from whom the College specially orders or commissions copyrightable works.

Copyrightable Works

The Policy shall apply to all works in which copyright subsists. Under section 102 of the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended (14 U.S.C. sec. 101 et seq.) (referred to herein as the 'Copyright Act'), federal statutory copyright protection generally subsists in 'original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.' As used in section 102, 'works of authorship' include but are not limited to:

1. Literary works such as books, journal articles, poems, manuals, memoranda, syllabi, bibliographies, tests, outlines, instructional material, computer programs and databases;
2. Musical works, including any accompanying words;
3. Dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
4. Pantomimes and choreographic works;
5. Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, including two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of fine, graphic and applied art, photographs, prints and art reproductions, maps, globes, charts, diagrams, models and technical drawings, including architectural plans;
6. Motion pictures and other audiovisual works such as videotapes, audiotapes, videodiscs and cassettes, including accompanying sounds;
7. Sound recordings; and
8. Architectural works.

Section 102 expressly provides, however, that copyright does not extend to any 'idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle or discovery' embodied in a copyrightable work. Any such idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle or discovery, not being copyrightable, shall not be covered by this Policy.

Ownership of Copyright

Pursuant to section 201 of the Copyright Act, copyright in a work vests initially in the author or authors of the work. In the case of a 'work made for hire', however, the individual or individuals who prepared the work are not considered the 'author(s)' of the work.

Rather, section 201(b) expressly provides that the employer or person for whom the work is prepared is considered the author, and unless the parties have expressly agreed otherwise in a written instrument signed by them, the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared owns the copyright in the work made for hire.

Section 101 provides that a 'work made for hire' is either (1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment, or (2) so long as the parties agree in a signed written instrument that the work will be a 'work for hire,' a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as (i) a contribution to a collective work, (ii) a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, (iii) a translation, (iv) a supplementary work, (v) a compilation, (vi) an instructional text, (vii) a test, (viii) answer material for a test or (ix) an atlas.

Also under section 201 of the Copyright Act, authors of a 'joint work' are considered co-owners of copyright in the work. Section 101 defines a joint work as one 'prepared by two or more authors with the intention that their contributions be merged into inseparable and interdependent parts of a unitary whole.'

1.   Works prepared by employees. Subject to the conditions set forth in this paragraph, the College will not claim ownership of copyright in any copyrightable works prepared by College employees (whether faculty, staff, student employees, or other employees) within the scope of their employment with the College, including, without limitation, course outlines and materials. When an original work of authorship is fixed in a tangible medium of expression, it shall be quitclaimed to such persons as would be considered the author or authors of the work if those persons were not employees of the College; provided, however, that the College shall retain the right to an irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to reproduce and use the works described in this paragraph for its purposes, including distribution within the College and distribution outside of the College to fulfill the College's non-profit, educational mission, but excluding sale or sublicense for profit. Employees who jointly prepare works covered by this paragraph shall be responsible for making arrangements among themselves as to their respective ownership in such works, and the College shall have no responsibility to make such arrangements.

2.  Specially ordered or commissioned works. Copyright ownership of specially ordered or commissioned works, whether of nonemployees, or of employees outside the scope of their employment, shall reside in the College unless relinquished by a prior written agreement signed by an authorized College official. To ensure compliance with this policy, College personnel shall require contractors and others from whom the College specially orders or commissions copyrightable works to agree in writing, prior to execution of the contract, that copyright ownership of such works shall vest in, or be assigned to, the College.

3.   Works produced under sponsored projects. Copyright ownership of all works developed in the course of or pursuant to an agreement, contract or grant with a sponsoring agency, foundation, corporation, or other person or entity outside of the College shall be determined in accordance with the terms of that agreement, contract or grant. In the absence of such terms, copyright ownership shall be determined according to paragraph 1 or 2 above, whichever is applicable. In any event, faculty may publish the results of their work under such projects, without permission from the College, subject to the agreement of the sponsor.

4.   Works prepared by students. The College will not claim ownership of copyright in any papers or other works that are prepared solely by students and that do not fall within any of the categories of works described above. If the work falls within one of the above categories or if it is a joint work and one or more of the authors' contributions falls within one of the above categories, the College will treat the work as described above in the appropriate category.

Copyright Notice*

Visually perceptible copies of any specially ordered or commissioned works (whether perceptible directly or with the aid of a machine) in which the College owns the copyright must include a copyright notice on the work in such a manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the College's ownership of the copyright. The notice should comprise at least the following elements:

1. The word 'Copyright' or the abbreviation 'Copr.' and the symbol ©, for works that are not sound recordings;
2. The symbol (small p inside of a circle) for sound recordings;
3. The name of the copyright owner;
4. The year in which any copies of the work are first published; and
5. The words 'All Rights Reserved'.

In notices on works for which copyright is owned by the College, the name of the copyright owner shall be the Pima County Community College District.

Policy Administration

The Office of Policy & Governance shall administer all copyrights owned by the College under the Policy. This office shall be charged with securing copyright protection for works in which the College owns the copyright and for administering the policy and related regulations and procedures.

Copyright Committee

The College Copyright Committee shall serve as an advisory body in the administration of the Policy.

Condition of Employment

The Policy, these regulations, and any other regulations and procedures issued in accordance with the Policy, shall constitute a condition of employment for all College employees.