Re: Franz Flavors & software copyright

[fateman%ucbdali@Berkeley (Richard Fateman)]

	From Ellis@YALE Mon Feb 27 17:15:31 1984
	.....
	  If a university professor
	writes a program as part of his research, that sure seems to be a normal
	part of his employment.
This is, I think, arguable.  A professor probably doesn't think of his
research, or programming as "work for hire". Ditto for grad students,
except perhaps those being paid in a non-research capacity.
	
	So it seems perfectly reasonable under the law for a university to claim
	ownership of a program written by its employees, including professors.
It certainly is possible for universities to make such claims, and some
but not all, do. Some make distinctions between researchers and employees
who are (for example) programmers.  This does not mean that the claims
will withstand legal challenges.
I think Ellis's explanation of the Yale situation is similar to Berkeley's
current operation, which is, however, undergoing substantial scrutiny at
this time.