Sales (14)
When faculty members create distance education courses, they have a product at the end which can be bought and sold. The Sales term, found in 14 of the study’s contracts, reflects the various practices that colleges have to manage the sale of distance education content. Sales is a subtopic of intellectual property, as it is the intellectual property which is being sold. Intellectual Property is a permissive area for bargaining.
Examples
Observations. Generally, under the Copyright Act’s “work for hire” doctrine, work product completed within the scope of work is considered the property of the employer (17 U.S.C. §101; Lipinski, 2003). However, most institutions have, by policy, contract or (in some states) statute, determined that faculty own the copyright to work they produce, even when completed within the scope of work.
Work created for distance education can be somewhat different. Unlike traditional coouse content, this work often includes significant assistance of college staff including instructional designers, graphic artists, institutional technology staff and the like. When including sales terms in contract or policy, the issue of split ownership should be considered. Creating clarity through contract or policy is advisable.
Distance education is often seen as a revenue generator, both by institutions and faculty. The reality seems to be that finding willing buyers for distance education content is rather challenging. All of the institutions covered in this study primarily pursued a model of “growing their own” distance education courses rather than seeking to buy the content of others. However, it is wise to include language which anticipates the possible sale, if for no other reason than to clarify the ownership of content created.