1. Faculty members should include a statement about copyright ownership of course materials in their course syllabi. The statement should state that the faculty member holds copyright in the course materials they create and, as a result, students are not allowed to reproduce, distribute, or publicly post their course materials without express written permission. To ensure lectures are protected by copyright, faculty members should either record them or deliver them from written notes. A suggested syllabus statement:
"My lectures and course materials, including presentations, tests, exams, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. I am the exclusive owner of copyright in those materials I create. I encourage you to take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. However, you may not, nor may you knowingly allow others to reproduce or distribute lecture notes and course materials publicly without my express written consent. This includes providing materials to commercial course material suppliers such as CourseHero, Chegg, and other similar services. Students who publicly distribute or display or help others publicly distribute or display copies or modified copies of an instructor's course materials may be in violation of University Policy 406, The Code of Student Responsibility, or University Policy 407, Code of Student Academic Integrity. Similarly, you own copyright in your original papers and exam essays. If I am interested in posting your answers or papers on the course web site, I will request your written permission."
2. Faculty members may also want to include a copyright notice on the course materials themselves to emphasize that they are protected. The notice should contain
- the word copyright or then © symbol,
- the year the materials were created (multiple years may be listed when new material is added in different years), and
- the name of the faculty member.
The faculty member may want to add notations to the notice such as "All rights reserved" or "Authorization is given to students enrolled in the course to reproduce this material exclusively for their own personal use." Note: Copyright protection is not contingent on including a copyright notice on your course materials. The materials are protected as soon as they are created. However, including a notice reminds students of faculty copyright ownership and of students' obligations to respect those rights.