Intellectual Property

Martin Community College encourages students, faculty, and staff to participate in creating innovative ideas. This includes but is not limited to research, publication, copyrighted protections, and patents. This policy outlines the ownership of intellectual property.

Ownership of intellectual property created by faculty and staff is retained by the creator provided the following conditions are met:

• There is no direct, significant use of institutional resources including, but not limited to, College supplied equipment, supplies, computer usage, laboratory, shop, office time, or College funds.

• The development of the intellectual property is neither performed at the College nor while under contract to the College for any purpose such that a conflict of interest would occur.

• The intellectual property is not created as part of the faculty or staff member’s normal job duties or as a special project requested by College administrators.

Students are allowed to retain ownership of all intellectual property created in the course of their education at the College. In order to comply with State and MCC policy, originals of course work may be retained by the instructor as proof of completion of the requirements for a course. These will be destroyed in compliance with policy in order to protect the student’s ownership and confidentiality of the material.

Members of the faculty/staff, including full-time and part-time adjunct faculty, are allowed to take course materials created for the College, including distance education courses and any supplemental materials created for the courses, to other institutions of higher education for institutional, educational use. However, Martin Community College retains the rights to continue to use and distribute these course materials, including distance education courses and supplemental materials, created during the faculty/staff member’s employment with the College. The College also retains the right to use those materials as it sees fit and to make changes to the course and the materials without notification to the creator of the course or material.

Unless otherwise provided in a written agreement, the College owns all rights to copyright or patentable work created by an employee in the course or scope of employment with College facilities, time, or resources. The College may enter into an agreement with the employee for an equitable arrangement for joint ownership, sharing of royalties, or reimbursement to the College for its costs and support of the employee’s creation of intellectual property.