Most institutions aren't aware of their valuable intellectual property, and some believe they have intellectual property when they don't, which can lead to expensive lawsuits or licensing fees. "Intellectual property" generally consists of copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Most familiar is copyright, the statutory protection mechanism for original works such as textbooks, maps, charts, photographs, musical works, illustrations and drawings, sound recordings, motion pictures, works of fiction and nonfiction, and theatrical works. Copyright also protects computer software, including websites. Not so widely understood is the nature of a district's own copyrightable intellectual property--the teaching aids, musical works, dramatic works, photographs, and computer software its personnel create. When a district employee creates a copyrightable work, such as a computer program, a workbook, or a photograph, and the work is created within the scope of the employee's job, the district is legally the "author." Ownership of copyright lies initially with the author, which means the district or school owns all rights in all copyrightable works produced by its faculty. Those works are called "works made for hire." Employees have no right to use the works they have created without the employer's permission. But the employer can use the work for any purpose and need not even credit the employee as creator. In this article, the author discusses what can and cannot be considered the district's intellectual property.