Exploring Portuguese Academics' Understanding of Ownership and Intellectual Property of Online Educational Materials

This article presents the results of an exploratory study that investigates how academics perceive the impact of e-learning systems in the ownership and intellectual property of educational materials. It has been inductively discovered that academics are uncomfortable with the idea of uncontrolled pick up and use of educational resources by third parties, including the institutions they are affiliated with. The main reasons for this mistrust are associated with perceptions of ownership and intellectual property, resources integrity and perceived insufficient institutional support. Two suggestions are advanced to counter academics' mistrust about making educational materials available through e-learning systems: (i) the institutional recognition and accreditation of the development of high-quality online teaching resources; (ii) and the clarification of legal ambiguities concerning this type of ownership and intellectual property, through the creation of clear institutional rules and negotiation of institutional policies.