In such cases, the students benefit by the experience, but the corporation owns the intellectual property. The examples given were from the Computer Engineering Department. Jim Grismer pointed out similar, integrated partnerships in the MBA Program in which students worked with private and proprietary materials, and intellectual property rights were help outside the university. Cobb-Reiley asked if the university ever handles blanket licenses to allow faculty members to access other people's materials. Coombe responded yes, to some degree, although policies and practices remain fuzzy.
Usage has to be handled by contracts, which explicitly define property rights.
Contracts have to be drafted in situations where agreements might affect competitive advantage. Such contracts need to be based on policies and not be ad hoc in nature. Megherbi suggested keeping such policies simple so as to encourage creativity in teaching. Julanna Gilbert pointed out that we are used to owning our own materials, but that on the Web we're increasingly at risk of no longer owning them. Copying, pirating, and the question of university ownership are changing the norm.