Intellectual Property And Academia

Abstract

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Accompanying the exponential growth in the technology sector in the last decade has been the development and implementation of new policies and protocols regarding intellectual property by many academic institutions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Characteristically, considerable debate has accompanied the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between technological progress and the development of university policies and protocols pertaining to intellectual property.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: x-small;">Initially, a set of commonly accepted definitions for "Intellectual Property" (IP) is established.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>This is accomplished by drawing from federal laws and statutes, the American Association of University Professors guidelines for IP policy content and wording, and several current university policies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>As these definitions are developed, it becomes apparent that one must next broach the issue of where software and other new forms of technology-related materials fit into current classifications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>This paper includes an overview of current approaches to IP agreements among research-level universities in the United States, and a brief coverage of historical precedents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Special attention is given to recent changes in policies which seem to have been caused by technological advances, and several outside opinions and recommendations for modifications due to technology are presented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The question of whether or not any changes in IP policy are warranted becomes central, and some care is taken to analyze the consequences of various proposals for modification (or lack thereof), concluding with some recommendations on the topic.</span></p>