Policy Remit October 2003

Intellectual property

The current legal position

The current legal system is that an employer owns the intellectual property of work produced by an employee if it is produced in the course of employment (Copyright Act 1994), unless there is agreement to do otherwise. Within the tertiary education sector, the issue of ownership of intellectual property is usually characterised by quite complex arrangements and policies governing the ownership of it, and the sharing of any possible profits.

ASTE position

Principles

(a) Staff should be able to maintain control over the work they produce for an institution, even if the work is  developed in the employer’s time. This is because:

• If an institution does otherwise, this infringes the staff member’s academic freedom
• An employee should have the right to transfer their ‘knowledge’ to another employer in the future
• Maintaining control over their work is an incentive for employees to continue to growand develop that work
• They are better able to ensure kaitiakitanga of the work in their relations with iwi/hapü/whänau/ roopü

(b) We acknowledge that the need for autonomy over a piece of work must be balanced with the ability for an employer to continue to provide the information as part of institutional academic programmes.

(c) We also acknowledge that ‘ownership’ is a problematic concept as it conjures up notions of individual or exclusive ownership. This does not necessarily fit well with Te Āo Mäori and other worldviews. This we believe further supports a position that a staff member (or their whänau, hapü, iwi, roopü) retain control over cultural and intellectual property, rather than the institution or employer.

(d) When a group of employees develop resources, undertake research, or otherwise create original material, the group as a whole retains control over its intellectual property. No one individual should agree to amendment of the work without the consent of all other members of the group.

(e) In a case where an employee has developed resources, or undertaken research, or any other work in their own time and used their own resources, then clearly ownership rests with that person.

(f) ASTE believes that authors/originators should retain copyright of any original materials, including course materials, created by the originators in the course of fulfilling their contract of employment with the institution, except where agreement to the contrary is negotiated between the institute and the employee.

(g) Course materials include all published materials used in the provision of lectures, tutorials, seminars, workshops, field classes, laboratory classes and other teaching activities conducted by the institution. They may include published overhead transparencies, slides, photographs, maps, diagrams, handbooks, manuals, course outlines, promotional and advertising materials and multi-media items.

(h) The ownership/copyright of any original material of a scholarly, literary, dramatic, musical or artistic nature produced by academic staff will remain with the authors.

(i) When property that may have possibilities for commercial use is produced during the course of employment, the employee and the employer will then enter into an agreement describing the obligations of the parties, and the division of any income and expenditure.

ASTE policy

An individual employee should maintain control over their intellectual property, and the purpose for which it is used. The institution has the right to continue to use the material as part of an ongoing programme, but changes to its content must be agreed by the author/originator.

In the case of an employee obtaining permission from their whänau/hapü/iwi/roopü to use cultural or intellectual property, ownership remains with the whänau/hapü/iwi/roopü.

Agreement needs to be reached concerning the possible use of material, and sharing of profits (if any) obtained from the material between employees and the employer. The general agreement and process should be recorded, preferably in the applicable Collective Agreement.

Course materials

In the case of course material that is developed as part of the employees job responsibilities, the employee shall retain ownership and moral rights of authorship. This does not preclude the employer having the right to use course materials for programmes run by the institution. However any changes to the material must be approved by the author/originator.

As passed by Conference October 2003