Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/11437
Historically, teachers have always owned the rights to their own curricu- lum, says Elizabeth Townsend-Gard, associate professor and co-director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Culture at Tulane Law School in New Orleans and legal adviser for TPT and Edelman. The law states that anything created within the “scope of employment” at one’s job is owned by the employer. For example, if an accountant writes a novel after hours, it is not within the scope of employment, but if that accountant cre- ates an accounting software program for use at work, it could be considered the property of the firm where that acco untant i s em - ployed. H owe ver, s ays Townsend-Gard, there has traditionally “been an ex- ception for teachers.” “Nobody cared before because teachers weren’t making money. But now, because of t he Internet, they can. The law is blur- rier n ow, a nd t he court hasn’t established wheth- er the teacher exception st i ll exi sts. But it’s im- portant that the teacher except ion s ur v ive. I f schools own teacher-cre- ated curriculum, it wi l l mean less autonomy for t eachers.” Townsend- Gard adds that any mate- rials created outside of the scope of employment by teachers — or others — are automatically the creator’s copyright. NEA’s Office of General Counsel warns that the Copyright Act of 1976 stipulates that materials created by teachers in the scope of their employment are “works for hire” and owned by the school — and that this could also include materials created by teachers on their own time and equipment, since it falls under the category of “job du- 20 California Educator | MAY 2010 ties.” For t his r eason, NEA s upports amending the Copyright Act of 1976 to of- ficially recognize the teacher exemption. Edelman believes the teacher exception will eventually be tested in court, and that the ruling will be in teachers’ favor. “When teachers change jobs or go from one dis- trict to another, they take their lesson plans ABOVE: Students at Liberty High School in Brentwood using Beth Decker’s workbook. INSETS: Jaqueline Campbell (top), fifth-grade teacher at York Elementary School; Beth Decker, English teacher at Liberty High School.