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The seminary acknowledges that members of the faculty retain the intellectual property rights to the works they create during the course and scope of their appointment, unless the work is specifically commissioned by the seminary. If a work is specifically commissioned by the seminary, ownership of the intellectual property rights will be retained by the seminary, unless negotiated otherwise by the faculty member and the seminary on a case by case basis.  This means, for example that ownership rights to books, articles and chapters in books, written by a faculty member, as well as the content and presentation of lecture material in any format belong to the faculty member, unless the work was specifically commissioned by the seminary and the seminary retains ownership of the intellectual property rights. The term “Intellectual Property” is a broad one that includes at a minimum copyrights, patents, and trade secrets.

Each faculty member is free to negotiate their ownership rights with a publisher of their choice and to receive all royalties involved.  (Please note that books and syllabi sold on campus must be sold through the seminary Bookstore. It is considered improper for a faculty member to market his/her own books and/or syllabi on campus.)  Likewise, each faculty member is free to negotiate commercial reproduction of their material in any format for use outside of the classroom, and to receive all royalties forthcoming, provided only that the material reproduced does not become competitive to the educational program of the seminary.

Work Made For Hire

All works created by all non-faculty employees during the course and scope of their employment are considered  “works made for hire,” and the seminary retains ownership of all intellectual property rights related to such works.  This means, for example, that ownership rights to any literary works and/or computer software written by any employee who is not a faculty member belong to the seminary.

The term “Work Made for Hire” has come to mean that a designation of a work as made for hire vests authorship status in the entity or person for whom the work is created rather than the creator. A “work made for hire” is generally defined as:

1.   a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or

2.   a work specifically ordered or commissioned, if the parties understand and agree in a signed writing before commencement of the work that the work shall be considered work made for hire.

The seminary reserves the right to change this policy and its procedures at any time, without advance notice, subject to approval by the provost.

For questions concerning this policy, contact:

 

Chief Information Officer

Fuller Theological Seminary

135 N. Oakland Ave.

Pasadena, CA 91182

626-584-5210

(Effective Date:  2/27/2007)