The ownership issue is a very complex one, depending on individual circumstances. It is probably easiest to assume that, since a given piece of work has been created by me solely, I myself should be its rightful owner. Period. Why, therefore, Intellectual Property studies thrive across universities? Clearly, there is more to that than just the above logic.

My opinion

My personal belief is that ownership rights of the content of PLEs and any work created during the study period should belong to the author him/herself. Such work, after all, is most frequently a result of unslept nights and hours spent in libraries/in front of a computer, desk, etc. To my astonishment, that was not the case with my former Polish alma mater, where the ownership to all my assignments, including a 20,000-word thesis belonged to the university.

Why is it so important?

That is a debatable matter. Mainly, because people are afraid that someone else is going to steal, copy or use the result of our effort, subsequently providing him/her with money, fame, recognition, success we would have gained otherwise. Petty reasons, all in all, but they can also be self-contentment with achievement or willingness to help others.

Who, if not us?

In learning environments the ownership of intellectual property may belong to the author, as well as a fellow student while collaborating, the supervisor, and research staff.

How is it determined?

A number of factors may intervene, namely: the given country’s law, the school’s policies, the external platform’s regulations, and principles of the given discipline.

Implications

The very fact that we know some external body is the rightful owner of our work may have a very adverse effect on our work. Simply out of fear of being intellectually robbed the quality of our performance may suffer greatly. We will simply not be willing to fully engage in the production process, knowing that we will not be adequately praised for our hard work. The content of the work is also likely to be less personal.

 

Many more details regarding this interesting topic can be found below:

 

• http://www.cags.ca/media/docs/cags-publication/Guide_Intellectual_Property.pdf
• http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alfredth/archive/2010/09/03/students-and-intellectual-property-rights.aspx