With K-12 students seeming to, at all times, have one foot in the real world and one in the virtual, school districts are starting to acknowledge a new collective responsibility: to teach kids what it means to be a good digital citizen and how to go about being one. The movement to address and characterize digital citizenship originated in the UK,…

This article discusses the impact of patents for computer algorithms in course management systems. Referring to historical documents and court cases, the positive and negative aspects of software patents are presented. The key argument is the accessibility to algorithms comprising a course management software program such as Blackboard. The…

Protecting an idea is often a difficult process. Some ideas and inventions cannot be protected, while others are eligible for only narrow or partial immunity from potential competition and imitation. Obtaining even minimal protection can often be expensive, time consuming, and ultimately result in uncertain or even negative benefits to the…

This booklet has been prepared to familiarize the inventor, creator, or developer of a new computer software product or software invention with the basic legal issues involved in developing, protecting, and distributing the software in the United States. Basic types of software protection and related legal matters are discussed in detail,…

Even students who are taking care not to plagiarize can misuse sources. The problem, argue the authors, isn't dishonesty or even carelessness, but students' misunderstanding of what it means to participate in a community of scholars. (GCP)

An internship program on intellectual property management and technology transfer was attended by 11 participants from eight developing countries. The interns developed an informal network and are advising institutions and governments in their nations on development of intellectual property policies and laws. (SK)

Used modified version of 1978 National Association of College and University Business Officers survey instrument to investigate intellectual-property policies at 38 (of 210) 4-year institutions of higher education in the 15 Southern Regional Education Board states. Finds, for example, that in the majority of institutions, top administrators are…

Considers whether conversion to digital form is a preservation action, the contrasts between selection for digital conversion and selection for traditional preservation, and the potential effects on the field of preservation. Topics include value and demand; intellectual property rights; added value; and costs. (LRW)

This article profiles Mark Jerome Sherron, inventor of the ALLIES Line of electronic sensors for blind and visually-impaired people. Featuring the American Liquid Level Indicator electronic sensor (ALLI), Sherron's ALLIES product line also includes the Light Intensity Level Indicator (LILI), a multi-function electronic light sensor for electronic…

The development of enzymes as biocatalysts for industrial use and the emergence of directed evolution in the invention of advanced biocatalysts are discussed and illustrated. Thus, directed evolution has bridged the functional gap between natural and specially designed biocatalysts.

In an effort to balance static and dynamic efficiency in the production and use of knowledge, societies institute intellectual property policies. In the United States, the patent system is a well-established mechanism to provide inventors with time-limited protection of new technologies in exchange for disclosure of information about their…

The boundaries of academic freedom may be greatly constrained by the US Supreme Court in 2006 in the "Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Metabolite Laboratories Inc." case, which threatens the essence of campus life, namely, the freedom to think and publish. The case highlights the fact that by considering publishing and thinking about…

This paper documents the major transformation of higher education that has been underway in China since 1999 and evaluates its potential global impacts. Reflecting China's commitment to continued high growth through quality upgrading and the production of ideas and intellectual property as set out in both the 10th (2001-2005) and 11th (2006-2010)…

Faculty have a great deal of control over their lectures, lecture notes, and slides. This article discusses a coming wave of recording devices and other classroom technologies--this time wielded by the students--which will test this control and force serious conversations about how to best help students learn, what it means to own an idea, and…

One may ask, "What is tenure today with its fuzzy parameters?" Is it a property right that a faculty member may earn and "hold" to retain employment? To understand the issue, educators must first understand what they are tenured to. Since the tenure process emanates from a department, are they tenured to a department or to a…