507 Copyright Policy
Yale University's policy on copyright encourages the wide dissemination of scholarly work produced by members of the Yale community, including copyrightable works. Such works include books, articles and other written works; musical and dramatic works; pictures, sculptures and other works of art; computer software, and electronic chip designs.
Under the Copyright Law, the copyright to a work created by a person in the course of his or her employment belongs to the employer rather than to the individual creator. However, it is traditional at Yale for books, articles and other scholarly writings by a faculty member to be deemed the property of the writer who is considered to be entitled to determine how the works are to be disseminated and to keep any income they produce. In recognition of that long-standing practice, the University disclaims ownership of works by faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows and postdoctoral associates and students except in certain cases. In general, works created by staff members as assigned tasks in the course of their employment are the property of the University. The University may also own the copyright to works developed in the course of sponsored research funded by an outside agency, to copyrighted works that are also patentable, and to works created under other special circumstances.
Any question about the University's ownership of a work will be decided by the Provost after review by the Committee on Cooperative Research, Patents, and Licensing and the Office of the General Counsel.
A full statement of University policy is available from the Office of Cooperative Research.
