1. Reproduction and Use of Course Materials Covered by Copyright Laws

1.1 It is the individual professional responsibility of all faculty members to comply with all existing copyright laws. Guidance about copyright and fair use can be found on the Oviatt Library’s Copyright Overview website.

2. Materials Authored by CSUN Faculty Used in CSUN Courses

2.1 It is the individual professional responsibility of all faculty members to make a reasonable effort to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest that could give their students or the public served by the University reasons to question the propriety of their professional judgments.

2.2 Faculty planning to adopt works authored by themselves or by other CSUN faculty in which the author has a personal financial interest must obtain their department’s approval to do so in each case. Approval is required regardless of whether these works have been published by a commercial or university press, and applies to print materials as well as eBooks and other eMedia published online. Such approval should be granted only if an independent departmental peer review by a committee of tenured faculty has determined that the work’s level and content is appropriate for the courses in which it will be used and that its adoption is unlikely to impose an unreasonable financial burden on students who are required to purchase it.

2.3 Faculty should not seek or accept personal income or royalties from sales of required or recommended course materials to CSUN students when they arrange to have the Bookstore or some other provider of copy or printing services reproduce these materials specifically for sale to CSUN students. Students should not be charged more than the actual costs that may be involved in legally reproducing and distributing such materials.

2.4 Departments which authorize specific course adoptions of faculty authored materials that are specifically designed for use in the courses for which they are approved, and that have not been published by a commercial or university press, may also authorize the department to charge a royalty which is to be deposited in a department fund used to benefit students. Such royalties may not exceed 5% of the cost of reproducing and distributing the course material involved.