V. Intellectual Property Rights

The policy outlined below applies to all teaching faculty.

“Intellectual property” here means property which is patented or copyrighted, or which may theoretically and reasonably become either of these. College employees retain all rights over intellectual property which they develop outside the scope of their employment and without substantial reliance on College facilities and resources. College faculty retain all rights relating to publication, preparation of derivative works, distribution, and classroom use of works which they have prepared on their own time and initiative, including papers published in scholarly journals or books, theses, and dissertations—provided the College does not possess rights of ownership by virtue of the exception described two paragraphs below.

Ownership of materials remains the same whether publication format is print or electronic.

The exception mentioned above is when such materials are developed by a faculty member as a special, stipulated part of a particular contractual obligation to the College, and the production of which may therefore be considered to fall under the faculty member’s “assigned duties” (e.g., preparation of a list of course transfer equivalencies at other Virginia institutions of classes taught at Richard Bland College). It does not include materials developed by a professor or professors in performance of teaching duties, unless such material has been made over to the College by contractual prearrangement between professor(s) and institution.

Faculty intellectual property disputes will be resolved according to the faculty grievance procedure (Section XV).