The administration’s proposed changes to the university’s copyright policy are justified and are being considered in a thoughtful manner.

By not implementing the possible modifications to the policy right away and holding forums about the changes, the administration has clearly expressed a desire to accommodate faculty viewpoints in the university’s copyright policy.

Current copyright policy allows a professor to retain the copyright on books or other materials created for a class. Changes to the policy would give the copyright to the university if the material was produced with MSU materials or supported in any way by the university. Faculty members would still retain the rights to material produced entirely on their own.

However, the opinion of the faculty should be the highest priority. The faculty has the right to be well-informed of the changes and the possible effects they will have if implemented. If enough faculty members come out against changes, the university should postpone them until satisfactory ones can be made.

There is already some opposition to the possible alterations. The American Association of University Professors considers them to be infringement on intellectual property. The association’s MSU branch is working with the administration to refine the policy.

But the proposed policy is similar to that being looked at by many universities across the country, including many Big Ten universities.

The university does not appear to be motivated by money. Its main intention is to ensure that MSU continues to have access to the materials it assisted in creating. When the university explicitly contributes to the production of materials, it is only right that it retains some control over the material.

By retaining control of these materials, the university will also gain prestige. The construction of the new Biomedical and Physical Sciences Center will bring more research opportunities to MSU. The university is likely to create more materials in the upcoming years, so the timing of these changes makes sense.

While the university should own the copyright on these materials, the creators of the copyrighted works should receive a substantial amount of the revenue brought in by the use of the material. Though they would not be the holders of the copyright, by creating the material, they have a right to reap some of the monetary benefits.

In addition, the university should retain its current policy on outside work for pay. A faculty member should retain control over materials created on his or her own time or for another institution or organization. The policy should also treat material created for online use in the same respect as printed material.

Overall, proposed policy changes are justified, but some problems need to be addressed before they are implemented. Some of the changes are not specific enough, and many faculty members still do not understand how it will affect them or their work. The policies should be refined to specifically outline who and what the policy will affect.

Once the policy changes are slightly revised and the faculty approves them, the university should have no qualms about implementing them.