This study describes an investigation of the intellectual property policies of a stratified random sample of public and private Carnegie Doctoral Research-Extensive Universities. University policies were examined to determine whether or not they included provisions for distance education materials or courseware, what provisions were made for ownership, and what exceptions, if any were applicable. Using a framework based on earlier work, policy differences between public and private universities and changes across time were analyzed. Results were interpreted in terms of the need for explicit policies to support online course development and delivery. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)