Online Intellectual Property in the Age of MOOCs
Rosemary Talab, Professor, K-State
Disclaimer
Opinions are my ownAudience participation requestedAudience survey
Overview
MOOC LandscapeOwnership IssuesIntellectual Property Copyright BasicsBills/LawsuitsFaculty Guidelines
Overview
MOOC LandscapeOwnership IssuesIntellectual Property Copyright BasicsBills/LawsuitsFaculty Guidelines
MOOC Landscape
3.17 million students 196 countries (Outsell, 2013)edX self-sustainingCoursera & Udacity commercialSpinoffs – MITx, Berkeleyx, etc.
MOOC Landscape
Bill Gates (2013):“Decoupling” of degree from knowledge
acquisition Use of alternate evidence (badges,
certificates, etc.)“Global phenomenon”
http://tinyurl.com/musst8v
MOOC Landscape
EU Mooc Production Fellowship (2013) Uses iversity Fellows - 25,000 Euros and assistance Fellows retain all rights to content
https://moocfellowship.org/info
Coursera in Canada and Australia Udacity has 606 communities worldwide
MOOC Landscape
Online courses time-consumingMerit, tenure/promotion variableOnline use more university resourcesMulti-national/multi-campus universitiesTerritory?
Ownership Issues
Growth of course “production values”Result is increased use of institutional
resourcesShutterstock - art and photographs
online27 million imagesJon Oringer is billionaire
Forbes, June 2013http://tinyurl.com/p9m7v7b
MOOC Landscape
Decreased tenured faculty Increased adjunct faculty Increased costs/tuitionDecreased federal/state supportRise of online for-profits (Capella, Walden, U of Phoenix, etc.)
Overview
MOOC LandscapeOwnership Issues Intellectual Property Copyright BasicsBills/LawsuitsCourse Guidelines
Ownership Issues
Who owns a course?Who decides?Who gets what in MOOC licensing?Is there a MOOC IP model?Do old IP models apply?
Ownership Issues
University owns/wants to own online IP Instructional design Technical/infrastructure investment PersonnelFaculty
MOOC IP ownership variesVarious MOOC license models
Ownership Issues
Overview
MOOC LandscapeOwnership Issues Intellectual Property Copyright BasicsBills/LawsuitsCourse Guidelines
Intellectual Property
Michigan/Coursera contractRevenue bulk to host/providerSubstantial university investment
“Multi-media content” “High-production-value” Disabilities, badges, etc.
(Chronicle, 2012, p. 2)Course IP - Instructor/University decision
Overview
MOOC LandscapeOwnership IssuesIntellectual Property Copyright BasicsBills/LawsuitsCourse Guidelines
Copyright Basics
Make a copy Make a derivative workDistribute copiesPerform work in public on website
(videos)Display work (still image, each
copyrighted) Section 101, Title 17 U.S.C.
Copyright Basics
Faculty Own:Negotiated IP (“life of course”, alterations,
etc.)Syllabus – copyrightOriginal materialsDerivative works IdeasPresentation
Copyright Basics
Faculty must know:Federal law, state, institutional policiesContract law supersedes copyright lawDefinitions:
Substantial useWork for hireDefinitions vary by institution/state
Contract Law
K-State – “written statement…from… unit leader concerning level of use of …support/facilities…”
Extra compensationIP protection
Substantial Use
K-State – “creator received staff, salary or material support beyond that normally provided to the creator”
Instructor-initiated or otherwiseInstitution-provided support
(technical/monetary/other)
Substantial Use
“Substantial resources”:Used for many distance courses Institution as owner
Also depends on: Platform requirementsContractIP policy
Work for Hire
K-State owns: Rights associated with works produced as ‘works made for hire’ or Works that make "substantial use of institutional resources”
Overview
MOOC LandscapeOwnership IssuesIntellectual Property Copyright BasicsBills/LawsuitsCourse Guidelines
Bill/Lawsuits
California SB 520: Grants for high demand courses to be
offered online Arizona State professors’ lawsuit
Violated the ABOR Intellectual Property Policy
Appropriated courseUsed former prof’s syllabus, assignments,
name and image
Overview
MOOC LandscapeOwnership IssuesIntellectual Property Copyright BasicsBills/LawsuitsFaculty Guidelines
Faculty Guidelines
Know Applicable IP policiesState Board of Regents or other Institution Pertinent sections (work for hire, etc.)
Claim rights to original materials Claim rights to class lectures and course
materialsNegotiate a reasonable approach
Faculty Guidelines
Creative Commons approachFaculty committees
Purdue MOOC RFP CommitteeOnline Course Committees IP discussions
Faculty Guidelines
Rutgers Advisory Council Credit bearing guidelines Non-credit bearing guidelinesMOOC offered through Rutgers approved
through Rutgers curricular review regardless of format
Time is now to voice concernsFinding a balance helps everyone
Summation
Carly Nelson (former AAUP President)"If we lose the battle over intellectual property, it's over” "Being a professor will no longer be a professional career or a professional identity”Faculty will find themselves in "a service industry”
http://chronicle.com/article/article-content/139743/
Summation
Do faculty want compensation based on intellectual property rights or collective bargaining?
Will tenured faculty IP rights be reduced?Will institutions become courseware
Walmarts?Will research universities will be
separated?
Fini
Fair Use Resources
Visual Resources Association:
http://www.arl.org/pp/ppcopyright/codefairuse/index.shtmlVisual Resources Association Statement on Imageshttp://www.vraweb.org/organization/pdf/VRAFairUseGuidelinesFinal.pdf
Fair Use Evaluatorhttp://librarycopyright.net/resources/fairuse
References
Purdue MOOC proposalhttps://www.distance.purdue.edu/
Rutgers Statement on MOOCs http://senate.rutgers.edu/ICAConMassiveOpen
OnlineCoursesFebruary2013AsAdopted.pdf
References
BerkeleyX (3-year MOOC development) https://www.edx.org/school/uc%20berkeleyx/allcourse
s MITx
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/oeit-joins-office-of-digital-learning.html
UC Irvine prof replacedhttps://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/professor-leaves-a-mooc-in-mid-course-in-dispute-over-teaching/42381/
References
Bart, M. (2010). Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Harassment: Navigating the Murky Legal Waters of Online Teaching. Faculty Focus. Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/intellectual-property-copyright-and-harassment-navigating-the-murky-legal-waters-of-online-teaching/
Chronicle of Higher Education. (2012). The U. of Michigan's Contract With Coursera. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Document-Examine-the-U-of/133063/
References
Rivard, R. (2013). Who owns a MOOC?http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/03/19/u-california-faculty-union-says-moocs-undermine-professors-intellectual-property
E-Literate. (2013). California’s Online Education Bill SB 520 Passes Senate.
http://mfeldstein.com/californias-online-education-bill-sb-520-passes-senate/
References
Porter, J. (2013). MOOCs, outsourcing and restrictive ip licensing
http://aims.muohio.edu/2013/02/26/moocs-outsourcing-and-restrictive-ip-licensing/
Berkeley Resource Center for Online Education. UC Berkeley. Berkeleyx.http://online.berkeley.edu/moocs/berkeleyx
References
Voss, B. (2013). Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): A Primer for University and College Board Members. Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. http://agb.org/sites/agb.org/files/report_2013_MOOCs.pdf
Kolowich, S. (2013). Harvard professors call for greater oversight of MOOCs. Wired Campus. http://tinyurl.com/ojbgr7o
Schmidt, P. (2013). AAUP sees moocs as spawning new threats to professors' intellectual property. Chronicle of Higher Education.http://chronicle.com/article/article-content/139743/
References
Talab, R. (2008). Using digital materials in online courses: A cautionary tale of Georgia State University. TechTrends, 4(52), (in press).
Talab, R. (2007). Distance education, public domain, free and “fair use” resources: A webliography. TechTrends, 4(51), pp. 9+.
Talab, R. (2003). An initial look at the TEACH Act. TechTrends 2(47), pp. 2+.
References
Talab, R. (2007). Faculty distance courseware ownership and the “Wal-Mart” approach to higher education. 5(51), TechTrends, pp. 9+.
Talab, R., & Butler, R. (2007). Shared electronic spaces in the classroom: Copyright, privacy, and guidelines. TechTrends 1(51), pp. 12+.
Talab, R. (2003). An initial look at the TEACH Act. TechTrends 2(47), pp. 2+.
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