Intellectual Property Policy

benefit of the school. Confidential information should not be disclosed to anyone except pursuant to a nondisclosure agreement approved by the Executive Director or the school’s legal team. Staff must conspicuously label confidential information with the applicable classification notice (e.g., “Oregon Charter Academy Confidential”). In addition, all confidential information must be safeguarded and kept secure and disposed of in a secure manner (subject to records retention requirements).

Staff should not accept information or other materials from a contractor, vendor or other non-employee that may be trade secret information obtained or provided without the owner’s consent. Unauthorized use of third-party confidential information can contaminate the school’s and organization’s work. Any authorized use of third-party confidential information must be in compliance with the applicable Non-disclosure Agreement.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY POLICY

Intellectual Property is defined as an intangible creation of the human mind, expressed or translated into tangible form that is assigned certain rights of property such as inventions (patents), literary and artistic works (copyrighted works), and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce (trademarks). The organization is committed to the enforcement and protection of intellectual property rights as both a legal and an ethical imperative. All staff are expected to adhere to the United States (“U.S. ”) copyright and trademark laws and to be mindful of the limited rights conferred by licenses and permissions granted by third parties.

USING COPYRIGHTED AND TRADEMARKED MATERIALS

Staff must assure that the work product is original and doesn’t include material owned by third parties unless covered by a license agreement approved by the legal department. Staff members must also assure that they do not use trademarks owned by third parties for commercial purposes without the consent of the owner of the trademark. Contact the Executive Director if there are any questions regarding usage of third party copyrighted material and trademarks.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism occurs when a staff member claims or implies original authorship or incorporates material from someone else's written or creative work, in whole or in part, whether or not there is a copyright notice, into their work product without adequate acknowledgement. Plagiarism is strictly prohibited and may also represent a violation of law, exposing the staff member to criminal and/or civil prosecution.