Clarify Responsibilities

It is helpful to clarify

• Rights
• Responsibilities
• Project goals

With respect to copyright, it is necessary to determine who will be developing the new content for the project and ensure that the rights to that new content are consolidated with the party who will control how the work may be used.

Identify the Author(s)
It is helpful to answer the following questions at the beginning of a project:

• Who will author any part of the work?
• If students, will the students be hired specifically to do this work?
• If staff, is this task within their normal job duties?
• If faculty, are the contributions directed or compensated by others?
• Do all participants intend to form a single, merged work?
• Will developers be using materials they have already created for another project?

UW Copyright
If this is a University-owned or University-sponsored work, rights will be consolidated with the University.

A participation agreement as provided by UW TechTransfer Digital Ventures or other document explaining the special circumstances of the project should be implemented at the beginning of the project so that everyone understands their rights and responsibilities.