Supporting OER engagement at Australian Universities: An overview of the intellectual property rights, copyright and policy considerations for OER

Abstract

Australian universities and learners are increasingly participating online. The use of web-based resources to support face-to-face learning or to deliver blended or fully online courses is mainstream; however, uncertainty persists about ownership of content and how it may be reused. Open educational resources (OER) offer educators, educational institutions and learners the opportunity to participate in an environment that supports teaching and learning through collaboration and the sharing of resources. Through OER, copyright owners can assert the rights available to them under copyright to release content in a structured legal framework that allows flexibility, equity and sharing. Clear licensing, an essential element of OER makes it apparent to those using or repurposing resources that they have the right to do so. Universities and university creators developing OER, or repurposing existing university-generated content as OER need to consider intellectual property rights, particularly copyright and personal rights, from the outset. Australian universities, through the delivery of their educational programs, have historically relied on copyright law to protect content generated by their employees in order to control its access and restrict its reuse. Engagement in OER requires university educators, administrators and content creators to review these arrangements, because under the terms of OER, users are granted rights usually reserved for the owners of copyright. Further, a university's ability to rely on the educational and free copyright exceptions when using copyright from a third party is not always available to them when the content is released openly as OER. This document provides an overview of the key intellectual property rights and licensing considerations in OER. In preparing this document, the online available intellectual property policies of Australian universities were reviewed to assess how these documents currently address the ownership of content created and developed by university employees. Input on existing and emerging practices was sought from Australian universities, through feedback provided by key stakeholders during the 'Open Educational Resources National Symposium' held in Sydney in August 2012.