Intellectual Property Considerations

Generally, copyright is owned by the creator or creators of a work (where “work” is defined as an “original work of authorship…fixed in tangible form of expression.”) However, the circumstances under which a work is created may dictate who owns the copyright. At the University of  Notre Dame, works created in the course of employment are considered "work for hire,” although faculty, staff and students generally keep their copyright for works such as textbooks, articles, papers, scholarly monographs, or artistic works, according to the university’s Intellectual Property Policy. 

A single work with more than one author may be considered a joint work, and multiple authors can also be associated with a single collective work, in which case each author owns the copyright for the material he or she contributed to it. Finally, individual copyrights can be transferred by the creator to another individual or entity. 

Copyright owners have specific, exclusive rights to the works they create.

Creators of works often build on the work of other authors or creators. For example, a book manuscript written by a faculty member may include copyrighted images, or a map in the public domain may have been transformed into a new work through creative annotations. It is important to realize which parts of your work may include the work of other third parties, and to understand your obligation to seek permission from the rights holder if the work you would like to use is NOT in the public domain, and you are NOT able to use one of the exemptions available to you under existing copyright law.

For more information on public domain resources, understanding exemptions, and other copyright issues, please refer to this page on Copyright.