INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
RIGHTS POLICY
Whole Trust? Yes
Reviewed: August 2015
Statutory? No
Next review: August 2019
Website? No
Prior Park Educational Trust, Charity No: 281242, Co. No: 01521832, Registered Office: Prior Park College,
Ralph Allen Drive, Combe Down, Bath BA2 5AH
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
The aims of this policy are:
a.
To warn School staff about infringing the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of
other individuals and organisations and thus leaving the School legally exposed,
and,
b.
To explain to staff, employed by the School, the School's (i.e. employers')
ownership of Intellectual Property (IP) of material that staff may create in the
course of their employment with the School, and the protection of these rights.
1.2
The various categories of IP include copyrights, designs, trademarks, patents,
databases and know-how are described in Annex A to this policy together with reasons
for and methods of protecting the School's IP.
1.3
It is not the purpose of this policy to stifle the creativity and initiative of teachers and
other staff. Indeed it is expected that Prior Park should be at the forward edge of
school curriculum development, teaching methodology, materials and techniques and
administrative arrangements. This know-how and material are accordingly significant
School assets, which need to be safeguarded and exploited to the benefit of the
School. However, it is recognised that exceptional creativity should bring rewards to
the creator.
2.
INFRINGING THE IPs OF OTHER ORGANISATIONS
2.1
It is essential that the School does not infringe IP rights belonging to others.
2.2
The School pays a licence fee to several agencies. A list and description of the
licenses held by the School is at Annex B. These cover the limited copying and
recording of educational printed material, Ordnance Survey maps and newspaper
articles and recording cable, radio and television programmes for educational
purposes. The School displays explanatory notices by photocopy machines. However,
care should be taken when downloading copyright material from websites, and
copying from books of tables, correspondence courses, and publications not covered
by agencies to which the School subscribes. If material is to be used for public
performance or to be incorporated in teaching or other materials to be marketed, it is
probable that permission will have to be obtained from the creator and a fee or
royalties may be payable. If in any doubt staff must contact the Bursar: incorporation
of even extracts of such material can amount to copyright infringement.
2.3
If you are in doubt as to whether a project such as a play or choral work, or
reproduction of teaching material infringes the IP/copyright of others, please consult
the bursar or Directors of Studies or Music, as appropriate.
3.
IP CREATED BY THE SCHOOL'S EMPLOYEES
3.1
General.
Prior Park Educational Trust, Charity No: 281242, Co. No: 01521832, Registered Office: Prior Park College,
Ralph Allen Drive, Combe Down, Bath BA2 5AH
The School has statutory prima facie ownership of all IP rights in any material created
by its staff. However, the School will not claim ownership of IP rights in any material,
created by a member of staff, which in the School's opinion is wholly unconnected
with his/her employment and teaching the School's pupils.
The legal rules on ownership of IP rights in material created by employees are as
follows:



Copyright/Designs. The employer is the owner of copyright/designs if the work is
made during the course of employment.
Database rights. The employer owns the database outright, provided the employer
made the substantial investment in compiling the database.
Patents. The employer owns inventions its employees make in the course of their
duties.
3.2
Creator's rewards.
If material is truly marketable and of significant financial benefit to the School (i.e.
could contribute directly or indirectly to additional income for the School), the School
will pay the employee a fair royalty at the School's absolute discretion. If a member
of staff creates material which the School considers to be outstanding and that has
involved a level of industry and creativity over and above the levels expected of its
staff, the School may in its absolute discretion make payment in recognition of the
employee's achievement.
3.3
Action on creating potentially marketable IP.
If any member of staff creates material that is potentially marketable he/she shall
inform the Head and the Bursar. Sufficient information (including the names of any
collaborators) must be provided to ensure an adequate assessment of the likelihood of
successful marketing to achieve either a financial or reputational (PR) return. The
School's decision as to whether to market will be final. If the School does not wish to
market the material, but the member of staff concerned does, the School will
formally surrender its interest to the member of staff on mutually acceptable terms.
Any member of staff wishing to publish or disclose an invention or design must first
obtain written permission from the Head or Bursar or their written agreement that
invention or design was wholly unconnected with the creator's employment with the
School. (Note: it is in the member of staff's interests to do so).
3.4
Marketing.
The marketing of materials created by staff will normally be undertaken by the School
in conjunction with the member of staff concerned, drawing on outside expertise as
required.
3.4.1 The School will:

Examine the project, assess its potential market and identify the most suitable
route for marketing.
Prior Park Educational Trust, Charity No: 281242, Co. No: 01521832, Registered Office: Prior Park College,
Ralph Allen Drive, Combe Down, Bath BA2 5AH


Consult with the relevant member of staff and others within the School as
appropriate; and
Facilitate any contractual arrangements necessary with third parties.
3.4.2 From time to time, the school will review all IP in which the School has an
interest. If the School considers that the marketing of any material protected
by IP rights has ceased to be capable of brining sufficient financial or PR
return, the School may cease to market and allow any registered protection to
lapse. If the employee concerned nevertheless wishes to market or renew the
registered protection at their own expense, the School will formally surrender
its interest on mutually acceptable terms.
3.5
Trademarks.
Staff are strongly encouraged to promote the use of the School's trade mark and to
report infringement of the trade mark by other organisations to the Head or Bursar.
The School has the following registered trade marks:



The School crest.
The motto DEO DUCE DEO LUCE.
The Names: Prior Park College
Prior Park Preparatory School
Prior Park Educational Trust
Prior Park Enterprises

The Title: Prior Park College, Bath.
4.
CREATION OF IP INVOLVING OUTSIDE PEOPLE OR ORGANISATIONS.
4.1
The terms of any agreements made between the School and outside organisations
must include specific provisions relating to the ownership and protection of IP rights
including the patenting of inventions. As a general rule, the School will retain all IP
rights.
4.2
The School retains copyright in all work it has commissioned.
5.
INFRINGEMENT OF THE PRIOR PARK IP
5.1
Staff are asked to be vigilant and notify the Head of Bursar if they discover any third
party using the School's IP and they suspect that this is without the School's consent.
5.2
There may be occasions when it is the School's policy deliberately to publicise work
created by School staff. Examples would be handouts on IAPS or SATIPS courses and
symposia sponsored by the School, or making material available to view on the
School's websites. In which case the work must be shown as Prior Park IP and be
endorsed as described in Annex A.
6.
SUMMARY
Prior Park Educational Trust, Charity No: 281242, Co. No: 01521832, Registered Office: Prior Park College,
Ralph Allen Drive, Combe Down, Bath BA2 5AH
6.1
It is to the advantage of the School, its pupils and staff, to identify, manage and
exploit its IP effectively; it is a major asset of the School.
6.2
To assist in this process or consider whether potentially marketable IP arises from
their work and if so to notify the Head and the Bursar in accordance with para 3
above.
Annexes
A
B
Intellectual Property.
Copyright licences held by the School
Prior Park Educational Trust, Charity No: 281242, Co. No: 01521832, Registered Office: Prior Park College,
Ralph Allen Drive, Combe Down, Bath BA2 5AH
ANNEX A
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
1.
What is Intellectual Property (IP)?
1.1
Intellectual Property is the term used to describe the creative product of the human
mind. It encompasses copyright, trade marks, database rights, patents, designs,
confidential information and know-how.
1.2
Teaching materials such as lesson plans, software programs, audio tapes and CDs,
plays, books, dictionaries, anthologies and music created by School employees are
copyright works that are owned by the School.
1.3
IP rights give the proprietor the exclusive right to use and exploit the material
created. They allow the proprietor to control what is done with the material. The
proprietor can grant licences to third parties to use the material in return for a fee
and/or royalty and can sell the rights in the material.
2.
Examples of IP Rights.
2.1
Copyright.
Copyright arises automatically on creation of an original (i.e. not copied) literary,
dramatic, musical or artistic work. The artistic merit of the work is irrelevant, so
protected works include practical materials such as teaching aids, lesson plans,
reports, written presentations, diagrams, photographs, software programs, audio
tapes and CDs, as well as books, musical compilations, plays, films and artwork.
The proprietor has the right to prevent substantial copying. "Substantial" means
substantial in quality, not quantity. Therefore if the essence of the material is
copies, albeit not a large portion of the material, this is sufficient to establish
copyright infringement.
It is important to be able to prove the date of creation of copyright material to be
able to demonstrate that it is original. Therefore the date of creation should appear
on all materials and if possible, independent evidence of that date should be
obtained.
All materials created for the purpose of teaching pupils of the School, whether
intended to be widely published or not are copyright materials.
If Prior Park materials are distributed (e.g. for IAPS courses or on the Prior Park
website for instance) please mark the material "Prior Park College © 2005". (Note:
the © symbol in WORD can be found using Insert then Symbol on the tool bar).
Prior Park Educational Trust, Charity No: 281242, Co. No: 01521832, Registered Office: Prior Park College,
Ralph Allen Drive, Combe Down, Bath BA2 5AH
2.2
Trade Marks.
Trade marks can be registered or unregistered and protect brand identity. They can
take the form of words, logos, three dimensional shapes, sounds, gestures and smells.
Registered trade marks must be capable of being represented graphically and must
not conflict with earlier marks or be descriptive.
Example:
Prior Park Crest.
A trade mark should be registered to gain best protection, but unregistered trade
marks may be protected, provided the proprietor can show that it has reputation and
goodwill in the trademark.
Example: Lynam's ™
Use the ™ symbol (in WORD use insert then symbol) with unregistered mark to warn
off potential infringers.
2.3
Patents.
Patents protect new, industrially applicable products and processes that amount to
inventions. Computer software can only be patented if it produces an entirely new
technical effect. Patents have to be registered.
It is important not to reveal details of any invention to anyone who is not a
permanent member of staff at the Prior Park schools. Whilst a natural instinct may
be to publish information about inventions, if details of the invention are made public
before applying for a patent, the right to patent will be lost and it is highly unlikely
that the Prior Park schools or the member of staff will benefit from it.
Example:
Incremental teaching method using a computer (Patent Number
GB2363240).
To warn off potential infringers, the patent registration number should appear on all
products covered by the patent: "UK Registered Patent Number 1111".
2.4
Database Right.
Database right protects the contents of a database in which substantial investment (in
labour, time or any other resource) has been made. The database can be in
electronic or written format and can contain creative works. For example an
anthology of poems may be protected, provided substantial investment went into
creating the anthology. A dictionary may also be protected as a database of words.
Use a database rights notice like this "Database Right Prior Park College 2005" and
make sure you change the date of the notice each time you substantially update the
database, because this extends the period of protection.
2.5
Designs.
Prior Park Educational Trust, Charity No: 281242, Co. No: 01521832, Registered Office: Prior Park College,
Ralph Allen Drive, Combe Down, Bath BA2 5AH
Design rights can be registered or unregistered and protect the appearance of
articles.
Registered designs must be new and have individual character. An example is a
computer icon. Unregistered design right protects the shape or configuration of
industrial designs. An example is the internal workings of an engine.
2.6
Confidential Information and Know-how.
Know-how can be an extremely valuable asset. Know-how developed by members of
staff for the purpose of teaching pupils is to be treated as confidential information.
All employees are under a contractual duty not to disclose any confidential
information belonging to the School or information relating to the School's affairs or
dealings which comes to their knowledge during the course of their employment.
3.
Why Protect IP?
3.1
It is to the benefit of the School, its staff and its pupils that IP is protected.
3.2
The School funds the development of facilities from operating surpluses. Appropriate
marketing of IP materials can boost the School's operating surpluses and thus
accelerate developments that keep the School at the forefront of education.
3.3
Effective management of IP can help raise our reputation further by good publicity
gained from successful knowledge transfer.
3.4
Successful knowledge transfer is likely to influence the financial benefits employees
receive for their work and this will strengthen staff recruitment and retention.
Prior Park Educational Trust, Charity No: 281242, Co. No: 01521832, Registered Office: Prior Park College,
Ralph Allen Drive, Combe Down, Bath BA2 5AH
ANNEX B
COPYRIGHT LICENCES HELD BY THE SCHOOL
The School pays annual subscriptions to various organisations to permit us to use copyright
material in the course of teaching. The license is only valid if the subscriptions have been
paid. The Directors of Studies and Music will normally decide whether subscriptions should
be initiated or stopped. If in doubt, consult the Bursary or the Directors to confirm which
licenses are current.
Copyright Licensing Agency Licence.
(Administered by IAPS) this allows the School to photocopy up to 30 pages or 55 (whichever
is greater) of a book, magazine, periodical, etc or a short story or poem not exceeding 10
pages. Only sufficient copies for the class(es) and teacher using the material should be
made.
Educational Recording Agency Licence.
This permits recording radio, TV and Cable programmes for educational purposes.
Performing Rights Society Licences.
As a general rule, if work originating outside the school is to be performed in public,
whether entry is charged or not, a work-specific licence will have to be obtained stating the
number of public performances. The public means anyone except staff and pupils of the
School. This applies to both plays and music.
If the School makes a recording (CD, tape etc) for sale, containing material not created by a
member of the School, permission, possibly on payment of royalties, has to be sought from
either the creator, his/her agent, or the Performing Rights Society.
Prior Park Educational Trust, Charity No: 281242, Co. No: 01521832, Registered Office: Prior Park College,
Ralph Allen Drive, Combe Down, Bath BA2 5AH