The social construction of copyright ethics and values

Sheila Slaughter, Gary Rhoades

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study is based on analysis of copyright policies and 26 interviews with science and engineering faculty at three research universities on the topic of copyright beliefs, values, and practices, with emphasis on copyright of instructional materials, courseware, tools, and texts. Given that research universities now emphasize increasing external revenue flows through marketing of intellectual property, we expected copyright to follow the path of patents and lead to institutional emphasis of policies and practices that enhanced universities' intellectual property portfolios, accompanied by an increase in copyrighting by professors. Although this pattern occurred with regard to institutions, professors offered a more varied pattern, with some fully participating in commercialization of copyright and embracing entrepreneurial values, while others resisted or subverted commercial activity in favor of traditional science and engineering values.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)263-293
Number of pages31
JournalScience and Engineering Ethics
Volume16
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010

Keywords

  • Case studies
  • Copyright
  • Intellectual property policies
  • Patents

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Issues, ethics and legal aspects
  • Health(social science)
  • Health Policy
  • Management of Technology and Innovation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The social construction of copyright ethics and values'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this