An ideal policy would be consistent with both the law and academic traditions. It would be equitable in its application and outcomes as well as uniform in its enforceability and comprehension within the institution. Yet, all policies are likely to be flawed and assailable and will include tradeoffs that result from negotiations, balancing of interests, and identifying priorities. While general uniformity and equitable application are important, CIC members should not anticipate that they can or should develop fairly uniform policy among themselves, and individual universities may find that they need different policies for different types of works or for different programs within the one institution. Multiple parties often have diverse interests in the future of a particular work that emerges from the scholarly enterprise.
Effective policies can devise a sharing of rights among parties.
By contrast, a grant of all rights to any one party can breed conflict and discourage quality scholarship. The law applicable to copyrighted works is flexible, and agreements and institutional policies can advance a result that is mutually desirable, rather than legally mandated. Therefore, policymaking and implementation must be driven by the academic mission of creating and disseminating scholarly works, rather than be directly shaped by the default framework of existing law. Policy standards should avoid outmoded and unverifiable premises. Intellectual property law embraces rights of privacy, rights of publicity, database protections, technological protection systems, and copyright management information.