IP ownership issues hit compulsory education

A proposal by the Prince George’s County (Maryland) Board of Education to copyright works created by teachers and students for school use has raised some eyebrows.

Here’s the way the most controversial section reads:

“Works created by employees and/or students specifically for use by the Prince George’s County Public Schools or a specific school or department within PGCPS, are properties of the Board of Education even if created on the employee’s or student’s time and with the use of their materials.”

A work created by an employee or student on his or her own time, presumably at his or her own expense, with his or her own tools, if created for use in the school belongs to the Board of Education.