Without an express agreement specifying otherwise, all intellectual property developed or created by Ensign College (“College”) employees or for the College by an independent contractor shall be owned by the College if it is created within the scope of one’s employment, consulting agreement, or if College resources were used. For purposes of this policy, intellectual property shall include, but not be limited to, inventions, discoveries, ideas, software, programs, instructional materials, course syllabi, tests, multimedia programs, PowerPoint presentations, case studies, and work products related to teaching or course curriculum. This policy shall apply to all College employees, including administrators, staff, student employees, full and part-time faculty, and non-employees providing consulting or advising services. Note: this policy does not apply to student papers and class projects created by a student to earn credit in College courses or otherwise to satisfy College degree requirements.
Exceptions
The College employee shall retain ownership of the following:
- Intellectual property created before one’s employment at the College;
- Any intellectual property that is unrelated to the employee's job responsibilities and the employee made no more than incidental use of College resources;
- Rights in music recordings, artistic, literary and scholarly books, articles, and other publications so long as such works are neither created under the direction of the College and/or with College resources nor developed in the performance of a sponsored research or other third party agreement.
Required Texts and Instructional Materials
Required texts and instructional materials prepared by College employees for use in College courses should be provided royalty free to the students, whether sold through the bookstore or by an external source. Exceptions are textbooks or other instructional materials that are appropriately peer-reviewed and published and distributed nationally by a major publishing company external to the College, and the total sales to customers external to the College exceed sales to College students. College employees shall communicate any exceptions to the President’s designee, and obtain written approval prior to using in College courses.
Review
The President’s designee will provide oversight of the implementation of this policy and will review any written petitions for an exception or variance.