Commercial Policy

The AAPT Executive Board has adopted a “policy on development of commercial products.” The following statement was approved by the Executive Board at the 127th AAPT National Meeting in Madison, WI:

  1. AAPT should support the development of innovative instructional materials that are not currently found in the physics community.
  2. AAPT should take a leadership role in large projects that need the structure of AAPT to gather the right people and/or grants to make the project successful.
  3. When a commercial product results under the oversight of AAPT, then AAPT should have the following relation with the organization that actually sells and distributes the item (assuming it is not AAPT itself):
    1. AAPT should receive a royalty from the product.
    2. AAPT should have control as to how the AAPT name will be used to promote the product.
    3. AAPT will retain the right to exercise control over future modifications of the product. (This doesn’t mean we will necessarily exercise the right, but we will have it.)
    4. The distribution and promotion of the product will be done by the organization/company that produces and sells the product.
    5. When the product is no longer unique or is a commercial success, AAPT will consider removing its relation to the product so that it is not seen in competition with its members and supporters.