CITIZEN SCIENCE
What is Citizen Science?
"Citizen science* is a form of open
collaboration where members of the
public participate in the scientific process
to address real-world problems in ways
that include identifying research ques¬
tions, collecting and analyzing data, inter¬
preting results, making new discoveries,
developing technologies and applica¬
tions, and solving complex problems."
This fact sheet is part of a series that
addresses relevant legal issues when
conducting citizen science projects.
The goal is to help minimize the
impacts legal issues can have on
citizen science projects, so these
issues do not become roadblocks to
the success of these projects .
These fact sheets are intended for
volunteers and citizen science project
leaders and researchers conducting
coastal and marine science, particularly
in North Carolina. However, practitio¬
ners in other disciplines and states can
adapt these guidelines as appropriate
for their own use.
'Source: The Federal Community of Practice on Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science at httpS/www.digitalgovgov/communitieVfederal-crowdsourcing-and-cilizen-science/.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intellectual property is the intangible product of human
intelligence and creation. In coastal and marine science, project
coordinators should be particularly aware of two areas of
intellectual property law: copyright and patent. This fact sheet
focuses on copyright.
For more information on intellectual property at the state and
local levels, see the accompanying North Carolina Sea Grant
publication Legal Issues in Citizen Science: A Guide for Coastal and
Marine Scientists and Their Volunteers in North Carolina.
Citizen science coordinators should be knowledgeable of the
general elements of intellectual property law in orderto:
1 . Protect the rights of their institutions; and
2. Preemptively address any potential questions or issues
volunteers or scientists may have during the life of a project.
Intellectual property rights regarding research, data and
patentable subject matter gathered during citizen science
endeavors is generally limited. It is important to be transparent
about these rights with volunteers. In order to ensure transpar¬
ency, coordinators should provide volunteers with information
on applicable intellectual property issues before each project.
Coordinators also should check with their organization —
whether the technology transfer office or legal counsel at
universities, or with the legal or policy review representatives at
state agencies or nonprofits — for the institution's own policies
and regulations on intellectual property.
What is Copyright?
The U.S. Copyright Act protects "original works of authorship
fixed in any tangible medium of expression." Available to
published and unpublished works, copyright protection in a
work is vested from the moment of creation. This means that
copyright immediately becomes property of the author who
created the work.
In the context of citizen science projects, copyright protection
is applicable to literary works, pictorial and graphic works,
audiovisual works, and sound recordings, including animal
noises. Additionally, products of citizen science projects, such
as journal articles, software, research, conference papers and
teaching materials, also are protected by copyright.
Generally, it is illegal for anyone to violate rights allotted to
the owner of a copyright. However, these rights are subject
to limitations, such as the fair use doctrine discussed below.
In some cases, certain types of works are exempted altogether.
For example, copyright does not extend to ideas, procedures
or processes, regardless of the form in which they are presented.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that copyright cannot be used
to obtain a monopoly over facts. Although a researcher cannot
N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Reseatch Reserve
