CAUTION! Read carefully - high chance of confusion.
Ball State University students seem to be having trouble understanding an issue that has gripped the attention of the campus community -¡- or at least the campus Facebook community - in the last few weeks.
Ball State is reworking its intellectual property policy, updating rules and regulations that are about 20 years old. And students are freaking out.
More than 1,800 students have joined a Facebook group against the policy, apparently afraid Ball State is crossing the line with rules some students say are too vague and broad.
It's time to clear a few things up about what is actually happening.
First, what is the intellectual property under discussion?
Intellectual property often refers to any creation of the mind, like writing, art, music, technology or anything else you can make. The controversy over the Ball State policy; however, leaves most of this untouched. The debate with the new rules concerns technology.
Next, what does the new policy say about this property?
Essentially the new rules say Ball State owns property created by students in two instances. The first is if the property was created under a research contract, as part of a Ball State job or under instruction in a practical course.
The second is if the property was created "with significant use of funds, other resources or facilities administered by Ball State," according to the proposed policy.
This is where it gets confusing.
What qualifies as significant? What if you edit a movie for the telecommunications department on the university's equipment? What if your dissertation includes digital work that you developed on Ball State computers?
The policy loosely defines what significant means, but it is pretty vague.
If a debate arises about whether a project used significant resources, the department chair and the Technology Transfer Office work together to come to a decision.
Next, what happens if you are found to have used significant resources?
A committee that is putting the policy together said, "A disclosure must be made to the university for the determination of [intelletual property] ownership, cost recovery, and royalty distribution." This is from a statement Student Government Association President Frank Hood received from the committee.
It means you might have to share any money you make from your property with the university.
So what does all this mean for you?
Basically, unless you make a lot of money on something you create using Ball State resources, you will be left completely alone.
No one is going to take your final projects or your research papers. Who would buy those anyway?
The university is changing its policy because of the huge changes in technology in the past 20 years since the last one was written, not because it is out to get you and that awesome essay you wrote about the War of 1812. The new policy will likely resemble the old one except it will take new technology into account.
Keep in mind also that the new policy has not yet been enacted. It is going through the ringer of university bureaucracy and will probably be decided on by the end of the semester. Any vague or questionable wording ought to be worked out by then.
This issue is of obvious interest to students, who should continue to keep their ears to the ground for other important changes.
As of right now, though, there is no need to freak out.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
