D7.1.3

=Ownership and licensing information is provided for all e-learning resources. =

Evidence
Intellectual property aspects of resource creation and use should be addressed explicitly at a policy and employment level and all staff involved in the design, (re)development and delivery of courses must be trained and supported in understanding the implications of intellectual property in their work.

E-learning results in digital content that can be re-used, or can be designed to be re-used (Bates 2007). This digital content has value and therefore needs to be managed. It is this value that compensates institutions for the investment in e-learning. Institutions should be considering how best to create digital content so it can be re-used. Also, who owns the copyright for the content once it has been created? There are a range of possibilities from making content freely available to charging for everything. Bates (2007) recommends that an explicit plan be developed for how the institution proposes content management.

Resources
A variety of social factors can inhibit reuse of resources, particularly fears over intellectual property rights. However, by thorough use of metadata such fears can be overcome (Littlejohn 2003).