The Board asserts the district’s proprietary rights to publications, instructional materials and other devices prepared by district employees during their paid work time.  The Board also recognizes the importance of encouraging its professional staff to engage in professional writing, research and other creative endeavors.  Publications, articles, materials, models and other items produced by district personnel for district use with district time, money and facilities as part of an employee’s job responsibilities remain the property of the district.

The district will apply for copyrights and patents when deemed appropriate by the superintendent.  Employees will be expected to cooperate in the district’s efforts.

In the event that an employee produces items described above partly on his/her own time and partly on district time, the district reserves the right to claim full ownership.  The employee, however, may petition the district for assignment of copyright or patent rights.  Employees will not attempt to copyright or patent such items without the knowledge and consent of the superintendent.

END OF POLICY

Copyrights, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101-1332 (2012); 19 C.F.R. Part 133 (2016).
Patents, 35 U.S.C. §§ 1-376 (2012).

Requests that the district copyright or patent material that was prepared for district use should be submitted to the assistant superintendent.

In determining whether the request is appropriate, the assistant superintendent will give primary consideration to whether the material needs to be protected for continued use by the district.  Since the district is not a profit-making organization, copyrights and patents will not be obtained for the sole purpose of selling material at a profit.

Employees who wish to copyright or patent material that they prepared for district use should apply to the assistant superintendent for waiver of district rights.  The letter of application should contain a copy of the material and an affidavit showing what portion of the time devoted to creation of the material was district time, if any.  The request shall be routed through the employee's immediate supervisor who shall indicate whether he/she believes the statement concerning use of district time to be accurate.

If no district time was used in preparing the material, the request for waiver of district rights shall be granted.  If the material was prepared completely on district time, the request will be denied.  If the material was prepared partly on district time and partly on the employee's time, the request will be granted if the district chooses not to copyright or patent the material itself.  However, this waiver will include a clause granting the district the right to continue to reproduce and use the material without paying a royalty.

In establishing a schedule of charges, the assistant superintendent will be guided by the following principles:

1. Sharing of information between school districts is helpful to those who give as well as those who receive.  We encourage classroom teachers to share ideas with one another.  We support the thought that school districts should do likewise;
2. The district builds a positive image in the eyes of educators elsewhere by having its good work distributed widely.  This pays dividends in many ways, such as attracting top personnel for employment and by encouraging our personnel to perform up to expectations inherent in the positive reputation.

The fee schedule for single copies will be set to cover the cost of producing, packaging and mailing shared materials.  For multiple copies which are ordered for use in quantities by other agencies, the fee shall also include a reasonable amount for the cost of staff time in writing and/or otherwise creating the material. 

Single copies of informational brochures, newsletters and similar publications will be shared at no charge when available.