Re: faculty work-for-hire sites?

James Porter <jporter[_at_]omni.cc.purdue.edu> wrote:
>
> Thanks to all for the list of suggestions and resources. What is
> interesting is that apparently there are no web sites or web resources
> related to the faculty work-for-hire issue, at least not that I've
> been able to find.

Have you run this question on Techno-L listserv? It is the "discussion forum for technology transfer professionals in universities, government laboratories, and in private industry." Some of the universities have their (patent and) copyright policies posted on their websites (see MIT's at http://web.mit.edu/afs/athena.mit.edu/org/t/tlo/www/guide.toc.html). Greatly simplified, it is not part of a faculty member's job duty to write books or other teaching materials. The job duty is to teach by face-to-face instruction, but not specifically write. So WFH doesn't enter into most such publications.

However, some faculty can be hired for/agree to undertake specific writing projects and that would be treated differently. Contract research is such a case, but in most such research agreements (and they are usually subject to very detailed terms), it is only the required reports that fall under WFH. Journal articles and other scholarly publications would not be required writings under a research contract although the same data may be used in both.

Diane Cabell
Fausett, Gaeta & Lund
Boston
<cabell[_at_]mama-tech.com> Received on Tue May 05 1998 - 08:35:58 GMT