[RP TownTalk] PG County Board of Education

[Sarah Wayland]

Actually, for what it's worth, I did read your entire post. I guess I
wasn't sure about the point you were making. Sorry if I responded
inappropriately.

This page talks about permissions for PhD Theses.
http://www.umi.com/en-US/products/dissertations/copyright/Part5.html

At the very bottom of that page is a section that talks through the
options for copyrighting your thesis. From the above: "Did you receive
support from a foundation or the university? Some funding grants may
specify the terms of ownership of resulting works. Does your
university's copyright ownership policy address dissertations? Some
policies specify that the university has rights to graduate
dissertations and theses."

When I published my thesis, I held the copyright, not my alma mater,
even though they gave me a full scholarship. Clearly,  institutions
differ in their policies.

>>> My point was that those words are not that odd in employment or education. I do not know about elementary and high schools, either. <<<

>>> Without more facts than one newspaper article, I would thank it would be time to gather additional information to be effective. <<<

I think the more important issue is what PGCPS hopes to accomplish by
setting a policy like this.

When I worked in software companies that had these kinds of employment
agreements, the issue was clearly about maintaining a competitive
advantage. That's clearly not the issue here - I think PGCPS
(reasonably in the case of its employees) wants some credit for
supporting good work.

What I object to (and it doesn't have anything to do with what is
customary) is the possible impact. I believe such an agreement that
gives *all* copyright to the school district will encourage innovative
teachers to go to other districts.

I have no idea what the impact will be on students. But if my son
wrote a book as part of a class assignment that a publisher wanted to
distribute, I would love for him to see some benefit. If the school
system holds the copyright to his work, that will be harder.

-Sarah