It makes sense for college and university faculty to ally with the free and open-source software community. They share common values. A marvelous additional benefit is that free software on campuses would significantly advance pedagogy and scholarship, increase efficiency, and save money. Only unquestioning obedience to market fundamentalism--or…

Bringing in millions through patents invariably requires university leadership to confront what a patent is: an authorization to sue for infringement. Patents confer the right to exclude others from using a given invention, without the patent holder's permission, for a twenty-year term. Permission, of course, costs money--something universities…

In June 2010, the Association of American Medical Colleges issued the third and final portion of its conflict-of-interest policy initiatives. The task force on "Conflicts of Interest in Clinical Care" did not mince words when it described the impetus for these initiatives: "It is imperative that the possibility or perception of [financial conflict…

The recent strike of the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) raised an important issue for academic writers. Although their compensation and job security differ, WGA members and academics both are creators of knowledge and culture. Among academic authors, discussion about dissemination of and access to scholarly works and lamentation about…

Suggests that professors can retain control over their intellectual property through collective bargaining and careful planning, but that there are reasonable alternatives to the privatization of academic knowledge that offer public benefits and the ensuing public confidence. (EV)

Asserts that although the new proprietary ethic within universities may produce certain useful results (chiefly for a handful of research institutions and their corporate sponsors), this growing market ethic is beginning to eclipse the long-standing presumption that scholarship should be open, collaborative, and public. (EV)

In their use of endowment, real estate, and intellectual property, entrepreneurial institutions are moving aggressively to develop their assets. Although thoughtful and moderate uses of these assets can be financially important during periods of financial pressure, overeager institutions may find the results disastrous, as Boston University's…

These days, most newly hired faculty are appointed on a part-or full-time nontenure- track basis. The AAUP has reported that between 1975 and 2003, full-time tenure-track positions increased by only about 16 percent, while full-time non-tenure-track positions grew by 178 percent, and part-time appointment rose by 189 percent. Yet tenure…

Asserts that universities' rush to abandon their role as "national parks" in the information ecosystem in favor of becoming profitable "content providers" has led to a paradox: to generate new knowledge, researchers and teachers need broad content freedom, but the role of content provider requires highly restrictive policies to…

Copyright branch of American law is summarized and two copyright issues of interest to academics are discussed. Ownership of copyright in works produced in the university and what "fair uses" of copyrighted works may be made by teacher-scholars are discussed. The Salinger v. Random House, Inc. case is described. (MLW)

Increased appreciation of the commercial value of intellectual property has triggered a major debate on college campuses, focusing on two issues: ownership of intellectual property and use of copyrighted works in teaching and research. Because these raise faculty-rights issues, faculty must identify its claims and interests clearly and make itself…

Intellectual property questions, as they concern college faculty, are composed of many issues and have substantial and far-reaching implications for the work of faculty and students and for administrative decision making. Both faculty and the American Association of University Professors must become involved to guard against incursions of academic…

The statement of the American Association of University Professors' Special Committee on Distance Education and Intellectual Property addresses the rights and responsibilities of faculty, institutions, and third parties in the current volatile, highly entrepreneurial environment of distance education. A statement on copyrights is included. (MSE)

The American Association of University Professors' government relations committee report on distance learning addresses issues and makes recommendations concerning the political context of the growth of distance learning; definitions, descriptions, and claims of distance learning; academic freedom; intellectual property rights; faculty workload…

The American Association of University Professors' report on intellectual property rights summarizes federal copyright law on issues that concern faculty: ownership; commercialization; revenue distribution; works created for colleges and universities; fair use; traditional, electronic, and multimedia materials; Internet/World Wide Web; digital…