Who Owns the Intellectual Property Rights to the Teaching and Scholarly Material Produced by Academic Members of Staff?

First of all, we need to define who Academic Members of Staff are. These are employees of the University who is a Resident Academic, Research Academics or members of the Visiting Teaching Staff. The duties and responsibilities of these employees fall within the ambit the Collective Agreement for Academic Staff at the University of Malta.

We also need to define Scholarly Materials, which are materials produced by an Academic during the course of their employment, or by a Student during the course of their studies, which include but are not limited to books or parts of books, academic journal articles, conference papers, abstracts, posters and related presentations, own theses and dissertations, artistic, audio-visual, literary or musical works, or performances.

The copyright on any Teaching and Scholarly Materials is owned by the Academic creators of the material (i.e. the Originators). The Academic Originators are free to publish and disseminate the said Teaching and Scholarly Materials as long as co-authorship rights of all co-researchers, and third party copyright, are respected.

Such ownership shall have the following exceptions:

(a) The copyright on textbooks or other materials commissioned and paid for by the University using University-administered funds, shall be owned by the University;

(b) Although the copyright shall remain with the Originator/s, the Commercialisation Rights conferred by the following types of IP shall be deemed to be transferred to the University:

(c) Where the Teaching and Scholarly Materials are created through Collaborative or Contracted Research, copyright may be subject to the terms and conditions of the respective contract.

The University shall be entitled to use Teaching and Scholarly Materials owned by the Academic Originator/s, subject to the moral rights of the author to be acknowledged (i.e. the originators need to be credited for the material, and the University cannot use the material in a way prejudicial to the honour or reputation of the originators).

A further exception is the copyright on Degree/Diploma/Certificate course plans and Programmes of Study created by Academics in the course of their employment. This material is owned by University and not by the Academic.

Who Owns the Intellectual Property Rights to Assessable Student Work Produced by Students of the University?

First of all, we need to define Assessable Student Work. This term refers to all the material that is created by a student for the purposes of assessment in the course of their studies.

It includes, amongst other things, theses, dissertations, long essays, assignments, research projects and presentations, whether in the form of written works, film, video or audio-recordings, and other creative works, created by a student. On the other hand, it excludes all work produced by the student that is not submitted for the purposes of assessment for the student’s course of studies.

The copyright on any Assessable Student Work is owned by the Students who created the work (i.e. the Originators), 

with the following exceptions:

(a) Although the copyright shall remain with the Originators, the Commercialisation Rights conferred by the following types of IP shall be deemed to be transferred to the University:

(b) Where the Assessable Student Work is created through Collaborative or Contracted Research, copyright may be subject to the terms and conditions of the respective contract;

and under the following conditions:

(a) the Student grants to the University a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual licence to use Assessable Student Work, or parts thereof, for inclusion as and/or in learning materials or in publications;

(b) the Student grants to the University a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual licence to use or modify Assessable Student Work, or parts thereof, for archival purposes, including for borrowing and copying in line with the general policies adopted by the University Library;

(c) the Student is required to obtain written permission from the Board of the Faculty/Centre/Institute/School under which the Assessable Student Work was carried out, in the event that they wish to publish or otherwise commercially exploit their Assessable Student Work, whether in total or in part, at any time prior to or following the submission, for assessment, of the Assessable Student Work, until the lapse of two years from the date of its final submission to the University, which permission shall not be unreasonably withheld.

What rights does a student or an academic member of staff of the University of Malta have relating to intellectual property and publications based on work completed during a degree at another university prior to joining or enrolling at the University of Malta?

The student/academic member of staff should consult with the IP Policy of the university where the study was carried out.

Does the IP Policy give guidance on the order of authors and co-authors in a publication?

The Maltese Copyright Act grants the first right of copyright to the author or joint-authors (this may then be transferred or assigned to third parties). When it comes to the order of authors and co-authors, the IP policy does not delve into this and this was done deliberately, due to the fact that every discipline has its own rules on authorship order. For this reason the IP policy does not set any further guidelines or rules but leaves this up to the respective Faculty/Centre/Institute/School's Board. This is also stipulated in the IP policy.

The reference in the IP policy to co-authorship is as follows:

In the event that Students produce or contribute towards Scholarly Materials, they will be considered an author or co-author, respectively.

In the case of any publication arising out of the Assessable Student Work, the Student’s moral rights shall be respected and the student shall have a right to be listed as a co-author.

The University retains the right to include any other person who contributed as co-author in any publication arising out of the Assessable Student Work, provided that the inclusion of such a person as co-author is reasonably justifiable i.e. such person would have made a significant contribution to the concept, design, execution or interpretation of the research leading to the publication.  

Can Students Publish their own Student Assessable Work?

Student Assessable Work refers to all the material that is created by a student for the purposes of assessment in the course of their studies.

Students are required to obtain written permission from the University (specifically, from the Board of the Faculty or Centre or Institute or School under which the Assessable Student Work was carried out) in the event that they wish to publish or otherwise exploit their Assessable Student Work, whether in total or in part, at any time prior to or following the submission, for examination, of the Assessable Student Work, until the lapse of two years from the date of its final submission to the University, which permission shall not be unreasonably withheld.

The main reason the University imposes this requirement on the student is that, in the event that Assessable Student Work gives rise to commercially valuable IP, the content is considered to be confidential information until a strategy for the management of such IP has been determined and implemented. The outputs of such research therefore cannot be disclosed until the University seeks adequate protection for the work. If necessary, the work is embargoed in the Library until such time as the strategy has been implemented or the University Knowledge Transfer Office renounces the University’s right to maintain such information confidential.

Does a Student have the Right to be Listed as a Co-Author on a Publication?

In the case of any publication arising out of Assessable Student Work (i.e. material that is created by a student for the purposes of assessment in the course of their studies), the Student Originator’s moral rights shall be respected and the student shall have a right to be listed as a co-author.

In the event that Students produce or contribute towards Scholarly Materials (which include but are not limited to books or parts of books, academic journal articles, conference papers, abstracts, posters and related presentations, own theses and dissertations, artistic, audio-visual, literary or musical works, or performances) they shall have a right to be considered an author or co-author, respectively.

If another Originator of the work is seeking to publish it, they are required to use all reasonable endeavours to contact the Student Originator to confirm their desire to be listed as co-author. Should the other Originators (a) not succeed in contacting the Student within thirty (30) days from initial attempt or (b) should the Student not provide a position within thirty (30) days from first communication received, the other Originators may proceed with publication listing the Student as co-author.

The University retains the right to include any other person who contributed to the work as co-author in any publication arising out of the Assessable Student Work, provided that the inclusion of such a person as co-author is reasonably justifiable (i.e. such person would have made a significant contribution to the concept, design, execution or interpretation of the research leading to the publication).

In the case of University owned IP, the Originators shall retain the right to be acknowledged as inventors or authors.

What rights does a student or an academic member of staff of the University of Malta have relating to publications based on work completed during a degree at another university prior to joining or enrolling at the University of Malta?

The student/academic member of staff should consult with the IP Policy of the university where the study was carried out.

Do the rights of a University of Malta student’s thesis short film belong to the University?

According to the University's IP Policy, film is classified as assessable student work. This means that the copyright over the film is owned by the student. The University retains a right to use the film for teaching & research purposes.

If the student were to develop the short into a feature, how would the issue of rights be handled? 

The IP policy stipulates that if the student wishes to publish the work (in this case the film) permission is required from the Faculty Board. The University also retains a right for a share in any proceeds should a commercial gain be made.

Would permission be required to expand the script?  

The IP policy does not delve into improvements of the assessable student work. Thus our understanding is that improvements may be carried out, provided that publication is always subject to the Faculty Board's approval.