Open Education Materials and IP

When developing curricula, who owns the intellectual property?

The flowchart below was developed based on policy 17.01.01 Ownership of Intellectual Property and Tangible Research Property.

        flowchart TD
    A[Start: Faculty wants to release curriculum] --> B{Created as part of normal teaching duties?}
    B -- No --> C{Commissioned or work-for-hire?}
    B -- Yes --> D{Created using significant University resources?}

    C -- Yes --> E[University likely owns the work. Cannot release unilaterally]
    C -- No --> D

    D -- Yes --> E
    D -- No --> F{Subject to grant, contract, or sponsored research agreement assigning IP?}

    F -- Yes --> E
    F -- No --> G{Any co-creators?}

    G -- Yes --> H[All co-creators must agree before release]
    G -- No --> I[Faculty owns copyright and can release to public domain]