Barnard College Office of the Provost & Dean of the Faculty

This Intellectual Property and Copyright Policy (IPCR Policy) clarifies the rights and responsibilities of the College; its faculty; other employees; and students who are collaborating with faculty members or researchers; and consultants. Copyright law protects the expression contained in works of authorship such as books, articles, memoranda, texts, computer programs, musical works, dramatic works, pictorial works, motion pictures and other audiovisual works, multimedia works, web pages and sound recordings. (See Appendix A for definitions.)

Section I of the Policy describes the various categories of such works of authorship and addresses issues of ownership and assertion of rights in connection with those works. Section II sets forth how the Policy will be administered and provides for the creation of an Intellectual Property and Copyright Committee to address issues concerning the proper interpretation of the Policy and to adjudicate disputes between creators and the College on issues of copyright ownership.

Section II also provides for a disclosure mechanism for works covered by this Policy and describes the procedures for licensing of works subject to College ownership or control under this Policy. When the works are licensed commercially, revenues from such commercialization will be shared in accordance with Section II herein and a Distribution Policy attached as Appendix B.

A. Traditional Faculty Authorship Rights - In keeping with longstanding academic custom, the College recognizes faculty ownership of copyright in traditional works of authorship created by faculty such as textbooks, other works of nonfiction and novels, articles, or other creative works, such as poems, musical compositions and visual works of art, whether such works are disseminated in print or electronically.

B. Rights of the College - Copyright ownership in any work of authorship that is: (i) created with substantial use of College resources, financial support or non-faculty College personnel beyond the level of common resources provided to faculty; (ii) created or commissioned for use by the College; or (iii) created under the terms of a sponsored project where the terms of the sponsored project require that copyright be in the name of the College rests with the College. This category of works also includes any work created by an administrative employee (including a faculty member acting in an administrative capacity or by a support staff member acting within the scope of his or her employment) generally constitutes a "work made for hire" as defined by federal law (see section on Copyright Ownership; Work for Hire, in Appendix A.) However, as set forth under the Licensing and Revenue Sharing provisions below, certain categories of creators of works that constitute works for hire will share in revenues arising from their creation.

Ordinary use of resources such as the libraries, one’s office, desktop computer and College computer infrastructure, secretarial staff and supplies, is not considered to be substantial use of such resources for purposes of vesting the College with copyright ownership in a work.

Where the College owns the copyright in a work, it will acknowledge creators (including creators of works-for-hire) who have made a substantial creative contribution to the work, if the creators so request.

Independently of this IPCR Policy, the College may have rights in works subject to this Policy by virtue of other College policies, including the College’s Policy on Conflicts of Interest and Commitment.

C. Commercial Distribution of Creator-owned Works - A faculty member, or other creator, who owns the copyright in his or her works under this Policy, other than course content or courseware under paragraph I.E.2, may commercialize those works, without the authority or permission of the College, so long as the College’s name is not used in connection with works so made available, other than to identify the faculty member as an officer of instruction at the College.

D. Non-commercial Distribution of Creator-owned Works - A faculty member, or other creator, who owns the copyright in works under this Policy, other than course content or courseware under paragraph I.E.2, may make the work freely available on non-commercial terms (that is, without remuneration to the author), for free or commercial redistribution, without the authority or permission of the College, so long as the College's name is not used in connection with works so made available, other than to identify the faculty member as an officer of instruction or employee at the College.

With respect to faculty-owned course content and courseware under paragraph I.E.2., a faculty member may make the work freely available for academic and scholarly use, without the authority or permission of the College (subject to the provisions of paragraph I.E.2 (d)), to recipients who agree that they will not make commercial use of the material, so long as the College's name is not used in connection with works so made available, other than to identify the faculty member as an officer of instruction or employee at the College.

E. Categories of Works - The following description of various categories of works indicates which works would generally fall into the categories of works in which copyright ownership rests with the College.

(a) Examples of Institutional Works are journals, periodicals, yearbooks, compendia, anthologies and films published by departments or programs within the College (even if the individual components do not constitute Institutional Works), and works created for a specific College use. Works created by employees at the direction of the College for College purposes, such as materials for administrative use and computer software created by non-faculty College programmers for use by the College, are works for hire as defined by federal copyright law, and the College owns the copyright in such works.

(b) Institutional Works also include some works produced as a collaborative effort under the aegis of a program or department, for example:(i) works created in a project initiated by a program or department, or (ii) works that are created and then developed and improved over time by a series of individuals, where authorship cannot be attributed to any one individual or group of individuals. An example of the latter would be certain kinds of software, which are developed and then improved and updated over time by multiple creators.

However, not all works that are created as a result of a collaborative effort among a number of individuals would necessarily be considered Institutional Works. As with other kinds of copyrightable works, the facts and circumstances of each case must be reviewed in order to determine whether the College would claim copyright ownership in accordance with this Policy.

(a) General policy - Copyright ownership rights and control of course content and courseware are governed by general copyright law and College copyright policy, as well as by the College’s Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment policies and policies governing use of the College name. "Courseware" is the set of tools and technologies used to present course content, and are independent of the content itself. "Course content" is the intellectual content of the course, as taught at or through the College. The College asserts copyright in course content and/or courseware, which may be created under the aegis of a program or department of the College ("institutional courses").

The College recognizes faculty copyright ownership in non-institutional course content and courseware created by individual instructors (subject to certain restrictions on licensing set forth in subsections (d), (e) and (f) of this Section and in Section IIA below). However, College policies on Conflict of Commitment and Conflict of Interest and use of the College name, as more fully described in subsection (d) of this Section and Section I.E.3 below, limit the faculty member’s ability unilaterally to commercialize non-institutional course content and courseware. The College will assert copyright ownership in such course content and courseware if there is an independent basis for the College’s assertion of such rights (e.g., the course content or courseware is created with substantial use of College resources, financial support or non-faculty personnel or pursuant to the terms of a sponsored project which require College copyright ownership).

(b) Videotapes and recordings - Ownership rights in videotapes or other recordings of all courses, and the parts thereof, that are made at College expense rest with the College. Ownership of the videotape or recording itself does not mean that the College claims rights in the intellectual content presented on the tape or recording. Copyright ownership in the content is governed by the principles set forth above.

(c) Use of course content and courseware at Barnard - Independently of copyright ownership, a faculty member has the right to use all course content and courseware he or she develops or creates in the normal course of teaching or research at Barnard. This right includes the right to make changes to the works and the right to distribute such works to Barnard students, faculty and other College personnel for teaching, research and other noncommercial College purposes.

(d) Use of course content and courseware outside of Barnard: teaching and creation of course content and courseware - Independently of copyright ownership, a full-time faculty member may teach courses and create courseware at other not-for-profit academic institutions as part of ordinary scholarly exchanges, including visiting professorships and guest lectures, as long as these activities remain consistent with the terms set forth in the College’s policies on Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment (including the provisions that require approval by the College), and as long as these activities do not include or allow the commercialization of any course content, courseware or other teaching or research-related activities created or conducted at another institution. A faculty member may not teach any course or create any course or courseware for a commercial enterprise without the approval of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty.

(e) Use of Barnard course content and courseware outside of Barnard: commercialization - Also consistent with the College’s policies on Conflict of Interest and Commitment and use of the College’s name, a faculty member, notwithstanding copyright ownership, may not commercialize course content or courseware created or taught at the College, without the approval of the Provost.

(f) Use of Barnard course content and courseware after departure from Barnard - If a faculty member leaves the College, he or she may continue to use at another academic or not-for-profit research institution for teaching, research and other noncommercial purposes, all course content and courseware he or she created or taught at Barnard, including both institutional and non-institutional course content and courseware, provided the Barnard name is not used in connection with the course content or courseware. A former faculty member may not commercialize any institutional course content or courseware. A former faculty member is free to make commercial use of non-institutional course content and courseware that he or she developed or created at Barnard and create new courses based thereon, provided that: (i) there is no independent basis for the College’s claiming rights (e.g., created with substantial use of College resources, created or commissioned for use by Barnard, or created under the terms of a sponsored project where the terms of the project require that copyright be owned by the College); and (ii) the Barnard name is not used in connection with the course. The former faculty member who owns the copyright in course content or courseware accords the College the irrevocable, nonexclusive right to continue using, as part of its noncommercial educational activities, all non-institutional course content and courseware that has been made available by the faculty member, e.g. the syllabus and material given to students. This right includes the nonexclusive right to incorporate such course content and courseware into institutional courses.

Use of the College’s name in connection with a work, other than by way of identification of the creator as a faculty member, researcher, other employee or student at Barnard, is itself use of a significant College resource, thus triggering an interest on the part of the College. Additionally, use of the College’s name can affect the reputation and academic standing of the institution. Consistent with the College’s policy on the use of the College’s name, faculty members, researchers, other employees (as well as their respective departments and programs), and students may not participate in the creation or use of works that might give the impression of College sponsorship where there is none. Any use of the College name (other than to identify the creator by his or her title at Barnard) in connection with a work created by a faculty member, researcher or other employee must be approved in advance by the Provost.

Similarly, if the name of the College is to be used in connection with any works created under collaborative agreements with outside entities (other than to identify the creator by his or her title at Barnard), such agreements must be approved in advance by the Provost.

In accordance with the Columbia University Patent Policy, the College claims rights in inventions or discoveries, including computer software "that are or may be patentable as well as to the technology associated with them." If the software is not covered by the Patent Policy, the College will not claim copyright ownership unless there is an independent basis for asserting such rights, as set forth in Section I.B.

As set forth in the College’s policy on Conflict of Interest and Commitment, faculty members may engage in outside activities for an average of no more than one day a week during the period in which a faculty member is expected to provide services to the College. An employee other than a faculty member is not permitted to undertake any outside consulting activities or other employment without permission from his or her department head or supervisor. No use of College resources, financial support or other College personnel may be made in the course of permitted outside activities. All consulting must be consistent with the College’s policy on Conflict of Interest and Commitment and use of the College name.

Consistent with the College policy on Conflict of Interest and Commitment, if a creator does not make any use of College resources in the course of his or her outside activities and complies with other applicable College policies, the College does not assert rights in works resulting from such activities.

The College claims ownership of works prepared for and at the request of the College by non-employees, such as consultants or subcontractors retained by the College. Accordingly, the College requires that there be a written agreement with any non-employee retained to do work for the College providing that ownership of any copyrightable works created by the non-employee shall be owned by the College.

A. Licensing and Revenue Sharing - The College, through the Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty and with the assistance of the Office of the General Counsel and other offices as needed, will provide appropriate services, including legal services, to commercialize works covered by these licensing and revenue sharing provisions. Any decisions concerning commercialization of the work will be made in consultation with the creator. The creator and the College will bring to the other’s attention any licensing or other commercialization possibilities of which either becomes aware.

Works covered by these licensing and revenue-sharing provisions include:(i) works made with substantial use of College resources, financial support or non-faculty personnel, (ii) works created under terms of a sponsored project that require College copyright ownership, and (iii) Barnard institutional and non-institutional course content and courseware. With regard to Institutional Works (as defined in Paragraph I.E.1) and works that would be considered works-for-hire under federal copyright law, the College will determine on a case-by-case basis whether it is appropriate for the creators of such works to share any revenues arising from commercialization of such works. Works for hire consist of works created by an officer of instruction, administrator or staff member acting within the scope of his or her employment.

Special provisions apply to the commercialization of course content and courseware. As with other works subject to this Policy, the commercialization of course content and courseware taught at Barnard (whether or not such course content or courseware is contained in Institutional courses) will be undertaken under the auspices of the College; however, the College will not undertake any such commercialization without the agreement of the faculty in question.

The College will ensure that any revenue arising from commercialization under this Policy will be shared among the creators, creators’ research accounts, departments and the College in accordance with the Distribution Policy set forth in Appendix B.

The licensing of books, articles and other non-institutional works described in Section I.A above is under the control of the faculty members creating such works. However, if any article or other such work is to be published, the creator shall seek to reserve the right to provide the College with a royalty-free right to use a reasonable portion of the published work within the College for teaching, research and other non-commercial College purposes. If the creator is successful in retaining such right, the creator shall grant such right to the College.

B. Responsibilities of Creators - In order to ensure that a proper determination of ownership is made, creators will promptly disclose to the College all copyrightable works in which the College may claim or assert rights under this Policy. Part of the disclosure by creators shall include a disclosure of the circumstances under which the work was created, a description of any College resources that were used, and any financial or other relationship with a third party that might affect the College’s rights in the work (for example, any consulting agreements or third party funding agreements pursuant to which a work was created).

If the creator is uncertain whether the College would claim copyright ownership in a work, the work should be disclosed.

Creators will cooperate with the College in protecting ownership and other proprietary rights in the works (for example, executing assignments to the College and any other necessary documents).

C. Copyright Agreement - This Policy constitutes an understanding that is binding on the College, and on its faculty, other employees, and other covered individuals as a condition of their participating in College research, educational and other programs or their use of College facilities or resources. The College may require formal copyright agreements to implement the Policy as appropriate, but the absence of such executed agreements shall not invalidate the applicability of the Policy.

Nothing in this Policy shall constitute a waiver by the College or the Faculty member of any rights that the College has under any other College policy, including the Columbia University Patent Policy.

D. Transfer of Intellectual Property to the Inventor or Creator - If the College determines that a work subject to College copyright ownership under this Policy has no likely commercial value and, subject to the terms of any applicable agreements with third parties under which the work was created, the the creator may request that the College transfer copyright ownership in the work to the creator, subject to an irrevocable royalty-free license to the College to use the work for its own non-commercial purposes. Such a request must be made to the Provost. In certain circumstances, the College may require reimbursement by the creator for out-of-pocket expenses the College has incurred in connection with the work, including legal and marketing expenses (if any). The College will act as expeditiously as reasonably possible in considering such requests by creators.

E. Making College-Owned Works Freely Available to the Public - If a creator of a work whose copyright is owned by the College, including a creator of a work-for-hire, wishes to make a work freely available to the public, through noncommercial licensing or other means, the College, subject to the terms of any applicable agreements with third parties under which the work was created, will accommodate such wishes as long as it determines that the benefits to the public of making such works freely available outweigh any advantages that might be derived from commercialization. The College will act as expeditiously as reasonably possible in making such determination.

F. Intellectual Property and Copyright Policy Standing Committee - An Intellectual Property and Copyright Policy Committee, comprised of faculty members, a student officer and academic administrators, with the majority of the Committee consisting of faculty members who do not hold administrative positions, shall be formed by the Provost to address issues concerning the proper interpretation of this Policy, to resolve any disputes between creators and the College concerning ownership of works, and to determine what constitutes substantial use of College resources. The Committee shall also monitor and review the Policy, and make recommendations to modify the Policy

Members of the College community may obtain advice from the Committee. A representative of the General Counsel’s Office shall serve as an ex officio member of the Committee.

The creator of a work may appeal the decision of the Committee to the Provost. The decision of the Provost will be final.

Copyright - Works of Authorship - The Copyright Law of the United States protects original works of authorship that are fixed in any tangible medium of expression. Originality, in the context of copyright law, means simply that the work has not been copied, i.e., it is an independent creation. A work is "fixed" in a tangible medium of expression when its embodiment in a copy or phonorecord is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration.

Subject Matter of Copyright - The categories of copyrightable works of authorship include:

Literary works
Musical works, including any accompanying words
Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
Pantomimes and choreographic works
Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works
Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
Sound recordings.
Architectural works

Literary works are works, other than audiovisual works, expressed in words, numbers, or other verbal or numerical symbols or indicia, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as books, periodicals, manuscripts, phonorecords, film, computer programs, tapes, disks, or cards in which they are embodied.

Copyright protection does not extend to ideas, procedures, processes, or useful articles. While ideas are not protectible, the original manner in which those ideas are expressed is protected.

Scope of Copyright Protection - Subject to various exceptions set forth in the law, the Copyright Act grants the copyright owner five exclusive rights:

These rights can be separately licensed by the copyright owner or bundled together. Copyright ownership in a work is separate from ownership of the tangible object in which the work is contained. For example, purchase of a book or videotape in a store does not grant the purchaser copyright ownership in the book or videotape.

Copyright Ownership; Work for Hire - Copyright ownership initially vests in the creator of the work. The only exception to this rule is where the work is a work for hire. "Work for hire" generally refers to a work that is prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment. Certain specially ordered or commissioned works can also be considered works for hire, but only if they fall into certain categories of works that are enumerated in the Copyright Act and there is a written agreement between the creator and the party commissioning the work that the work will be considered a work for hire. "Work for hire" status means that the employer is considered the author of the work. Works subject to faculty ownership under this Policy are not treated as works for hire.

Commissioned Works - For purposes of paragraph I.B.ii, works of authorship are considered commissioned by the College if their creation is specifically directed by the College for its own use. Works are not commissioned if their creation is merely encouraged or casually rewarded, or if the works once created at a faculty member’s own initiative are later adopted or employed by the College.

Software - "Software" means computer programs. A "computer program" is a set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result

The decision to license multiple, related innovations/creations as if they were one innovation/creation will be made by the College in consultation with the creators of the works. If there are multiple developers/creators and more than one innovation/creation covered by a single license agreement, the majority of the developers/creators will determine the weight that each innovation/creation should be given in order to calculate the developer’s/creator’s share. The results of this calculation will also be used to distribute the other shares. A net accumulation will be calculated for each innovation/creation but accumulation limits (see below) apply to the multiple, related innovations/creations as if they were one innovation/creation.

Decisions about whether licenses shall be exclusive or non-exclusive shall be made by the College in consultation with the creator(s).

The Provost must approve any exceptions to the Policy. The Provost will resolve disagreements about matters of definition and the applicability of distribution policy.

If the College seeks patent protection for a work subject to this Policy, proceeds will be distributed in accordance with the Patent Policy rather than this Policy.

There are three distribution models. The first model follows the current practice for intellectual property policy distribution that has been followed with respect to software and applies to software/new media that will not be further enhanced within the College. The second model applies to software/new media that will require additional development efforts within the College. Expenditures for continuing development may be subject to limitations imposed by external entities with whose support innovations/creations were conceived. The third distribution model applies to all software/new media developed in partnership with Columbia University.

1. Distribution of License Income from Software/New Media that will not be Further Enhanced within the College

Net income is defined as 80% of gross income; 20% of gross income is used for pooled legal and administrative expenses and internally reinvested funds. The College reserves the right to deduct additional sums for extraordinary expenses. After the 20% is deducted, the distribution is:

	Cum Net Income < 100K	Cum Net Income > 100K
Developer/Creator	50%	25%
Developer’s Research and Innovation Account	25%	25%
Department	0%	7.5%
Provost’s Faculty Development Fund	0%	7.5%
College	25%	35%

2. Distribution of License Income from Software/New Media that will be Further Enhanced by the Developer within the College

This distribution formula for software/new media that requires continuing development or enhancement is different from the distribution formula set forth above because of differences in the costs involved in marketing, distributing and/or maintaining such innovations/creations within the College. In the formula, additional resources are made available to the developer’s research and innovation account to permit continuing development. After 20% is deducted to reach net income, the distribution is:

	Cum Net Income < 100K	Cum Net Income > 100K
Developer/Creator	50%	25%
Developer’s Research and Innovation Account	30%	38%
Department	0%	8.5%
Provost’s Faculty Development Fund	0%	8.5%
College	20%	20%

Developers/creators are required to provide annual verification to the Provost that enhancements are proceeding. If new versions of software/new media are significantly different from previous versions, the new versions will be considered separate innovations/creations for the purpose of determining revenue distributions.

3. Distribution of License Income from Software/New Media Developed in Cooperation with Columbia University

This distribution formula for software/new media applies when the software/new media is developed in cooperation with Columbia University. After 20% is deducted to reach net income, the distribution is:

	Cum Net Income < 100K	Cum Net Income > 100K
Developer/Creator	50%	25%
Developer’s Research and Innovation Account	25%	25%
Department	0%	8.5%
Barnard	25%	16.75%
Columbia	0%	24.75%

The developer/creator can be a person or persons or a center, department, or program of the College. Developers/creators can also be a mix of more than one of these categories.

Developers/creators determine allocations of this share among themselves; the Provost will resolve disagreements.

In those cases in which the developer/creator is an individual, his/her share will not be altered when affiliation with the College is terminated. In the event of his/her death, his/her share shall inure to his/her estate.

The developer’s research account may be used only for College research, innovation, or educational purposes designated by the developers/creators.

Any excess over $500,000 received by the Developer in a given year reverts to a strategic initiative fund used for internal funding of research, teaching, and innovation projects, or such others academic and scholarly priorities of the College

If there is more than one developer/creator, the same allocation percentages that govern the developer’s/creator’s share will be used for internal allocations of the developer’s research account. Graduate students with no innovative areas of their own will not receive a portion of the developer’s research and innovation account.

If there is more than one developer/creator and one of them terminates their affiliation with College, the developer’s research and innovation account will be reallocated among the remaining developer/creators. New allocation percentages are based upon original ratios. Example: original = 50/25/25; developer/creator with 25% terminates their affiliation; new allocation = 67/33. If all developers/creators terminate their affiliation with the College, the developer’s research and innovation account share reverts to the College to be reallocated.

The department share may be used only for College research, innovation, or educational purposes designated by the department(s). Any excess over $250,000 received by the Department or Program in a given year reverts to a strategic initiative fund used for internal funding of research, teaching, and innovation projects, or such others academic and scholarly priorities of the College

If a developer/creator belongs to more than one department, the unit(s) within which the innovation/creation arose receive(s) the department share. Allocations among departments are determined by the departments according to the contribution each department made to the development of the innovation/creation; the Provost will resolve disagreements.

If the innovation/creation involves several developers/creators from different departments, allocation of the department share will follow the allocation percentages used for the developer’s/creator’s share.

The department share is unaffected when a developer’s/creator’s affiliation with the College is terminated.

The Faculty Development Fund share may be used only for College research, innovation, or educational purposes designated by the College

Any excess over $500,000 received by the Provost’s Faculty Development Fund in a given year reverts to the College.

If the innovation/creation involves several developers/creators from different programs or departments, allocation of the College’s share will follow the allocation percentages used for the developer’s/creator’s share.

The Provost’s Faculty Development Fund’s share is unaffected when a developer’s/creator’s affiliation with the College is terminated.