Copyright Policy

Purpose.
The purpose of the Lamar State College Port Arthur copyright policy is to outline the respective rights of the institution and the member of its faculty, staff, and student body have in copyrightable materials created by them while affiliated with LSCPA.
Policy Statement.
Copyright is the ownership and control of the intellectual property in original works of authorship that is subject to copyright law. It is the policy of State College Port Arthur that all rights in copyright shall remain with the creator of the work except as otherwise provided in Section X.C of the Faculty Handbook.
Ownership of Copyright.
Lamar State College Port Arthur has developed the following policy regarding the ownership of copyrighted materials.
1. The Texas State University System and Lamar State College Port Arthur claim no ownership of fiction, popular nonfiction, poetry, music compositions or other works of artistic imagination that are not institutional works. For other materials that are totally faculty generated with no college equipment or aid other than that routinely used by faculty in duties associated with teaching, the faculty member holds the copyright and complete intellectual property rights.
2. If the work is contracted in writing by the college of the employee on a work for hire basis, the college then owns the copyright and all benefits of the materials.
3. Copyright of materials (including software) that are developed with the significant use of funds, space, equipment, or facilities administered by the college, including but not limited to classroom and laboratory materials, but without any obligation by the college to others in connection with the support, shall be held by the college.
4. For the purpose of this policy, the provision of office or library space alone shall not be construed as constituting a significant use of funds, substantial resources, space, equipment, or facilities, except in those situations where the office or library facilities were provided specifically to support the development of the materials in question. Substantial resources shall include, but shall not be limited to, the purchase of new technology software or equipment not normally needed for the employee’s duties, and/or a substantial monetary award explicitly for the creation of the work.
5. Copyright ownership of all materials (including software) developed in the course of or pursuant to a sponsored research or support agreement (i.e., an agreement which provides funds, space, equipment, or facilities for research purposes), shall be determined in accordance with the terms of such agreement, or, in the absence of such terms, the copyright shall be held by the college. The agreement may grant an employee a non- exclusive educational license allowing the employee to share royalties from third parties using the materials.
Ownership of Copyright Mediated Courseware.
1. Mediated courseware includes, but is not necessarily limited to, instructional material delivered over the Internet, synchronous or asynchronous video or audio courses, components of courses, or instructional support materials.
2. Copyright of mediated courseware developed without specific direction of significant support of Lamar State College Port Arthur shall remain with the employee. No royalty, rent, or other consideration shall be paid to the employee or former employee when that mediated courseware or a modification thereof is used for instruction by the college. The employee or former employee shall take no action that limits the college’s right to use the instructional materials and shall provide written notice on the courseware itself of the institution’s right of use. See Chapter V, Paragraph 4.76 of the System Rules and Regulations and Section III of the Faculty Handbook for policies on noncompetitive use of employee- owned, mediated courseware.
3. Copyright of mediated courseware developed at the specific direction or with the substantial resources of the college shall be jointly held by the college and the employee, unless otherwise specified at the time commissioning of the work, and shall not be used without written consent of the college. The college shall have the right to modify the courseware and decide who will utilize it in instruction. Royalties or revenues generated from the licensing of such mediated courseware may be jointly shared with the employee as noted in Section III, Paragraph 11 of the System Rules and Regulations.
4. For the purpose of this policy, the provision of an office or library facilities alone shall not be construed as constituting substantial resources, space, equipment, or facilities, unless they were provided specifically to support the development of the material in question.
Distribution of Copyright Royalties
1. Creators of copyrightable material not owned by Lamar State College Port Arthur, or to which the college has relinquished any ownership claim, own the copyrights in their work and are free to publish them, register the copyright, and receive any revenues which may result therefrom.
2. Royalty income received by Lamar State College Port Arthur through the sale, licensing, leasing, or use of copyrightable material in which the college has a property interest will normally be shared with the author and the institution.
  1. The net royalties or other net income received by the college will, in most cases, be distributed under a formula of 50 percent to the author and 50 percent to the institution.
  2. Any distribution which grants the author more than 50 percent of net royalties requires the approval of the Board of Regents.
  3. In the event of multiple authors, the proper distribution of the 50 percent author’s share shall be determined by the President, as appropriate.
  4. Disposition of the 50 percent dedicated to the institution is within the President’s discretion.
3. In the event that an author contributes a personal work to the college, a written agreement accepting such contribution shall be executed. The terms of the agreement shall include a statement governing the division of royalties between the institution and the author.
4. In cases of external funding, the terms of the funding agreement shall govern the division of any royalties that may result in commercialization of materials resulting therefrom. In the event that the funding agreement vests royalty rights in State College Port Arthur, the author shall be entitled to the same proportionate share he or she would have received if the work had not been extramurally funded. Such a royalty payment to the author, however, may not violate the terms of the funding agreement. Such share shall be a proportion of whatever share is owned by the college under the terms of the funding agreement and this policy.
Revision of Materials.
Materials owned by the college under the terms of this policy shall not be altered or revised without providing the author a reasonable opportunity to assume the responsibility for the revision. If the author declines the opportunity to revise such material, the President will make the assignment of responsibility for the revision.
Withdrawal of Materials.
Materials owned by the college shall be withdrawn from use when the college, in consultation with the author, deems such use to be obsolete or inappropriate.
Student Work

A student shall retain all rights to work created as part of a class or using college technology resources.