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Sunday, October 31, 2010

American University Intellectual Property Brief � Who Owns Students’ Class Notes? California State University System Slaps NoteUtopia.com Entrepreneur with Cease and Desist Letter

American University Intellectual Property Brief � Who Owns Students’ Class Notes? California State University System Slaps NoteUtopia.com Entrepreneur with Cease and Desist Letter

Who Owns Students’ Class Notes? California State University System Slaps NoteUtopia.com Entrepreneur with Cease and Desist Letter

Submitted by Ashley Kobi on October 31, 2010 – 9:00 AMComments (0)

Late last month the California State University Chancellor’s Office sent Ryan Stevens a cease and desist letter. The letter arrived just a few weeks after the launch of NoteUtopia.com. The site, which was first conceived of during an entrepreneurship class Stevens was enrolled in at California State University (CSU) Sacramento, provides a forum for students to buy and sell notes and other study materials for classes. It’s also intended to function as an online community – a place to network, discuss courses and rate professors.

The September 21 cease and desist letter penned by University Counsel Gale Baker indicated that the site violates a section of California’s state education code which prohibits students from selling or disseminating “academic presentations,” including class notes, for