Faculty must defend their rights to their intellectual property, which are increasingly under threat, according to a draft report released Thursday by the American Association of University Professors… university attempts to assert ownership over faculty intellectual property have accelerated… Historically, professors do share intellectual property on inventions and products created with university support, but books tend to be controlled entirely by the faculty authors, even if they, too, benefited from the college resources. Property models for online content are still emerging. The report also highlights the University of California System’s recent adjustments to its faculty patent rights agreement, which explicitly assigns to the university the rights to inventions and patents made using its resources or facilities. AAUP says faculty must actively safeguard their intellectual property, ideally by signing a license granting the university the right to use – not own – the material.
Read full article [here]. by Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed.