Knowledge Transfer Services for Students

Knowledge transfer managers at BUT provide basic guidance to BUT students on matters of intellectual property protection and founding an innovative company based on BUT research results (start-ups and spin-offs).

Each faculty/unit at BUT has its own knowledge transfer manager available on-site.

For students, it is important to note that a purely student relationship with the university does not entitle the university to the results of the student's creative work – for example, schoolwork (bachelor’s, master’s, and seminar papers), inventions, design elements, etc. Intellectual property rights thus belong to the student, who can manage them commercially.

Only in the case of the results of a student's creative work produced to fulfill his/her study obligations, if they are commercialized, is the school entitled to reimbursement of the costs incurred by the school to produce the result. The university also has the right to publish the schoolwork and use it for non-commercial purposes. If there is interest in using the work for commercial purposes, the university (BUT) has the right to request a license on standard terms, including license fees to the student.

We advise students to NOT DISCLOSE the acquired knowledge or share it with third parties until its protection has been secured.

What if a creative work result was created through joint work between a student and a BUT employee?

Schoolwork (bachelor’s, master’s, seminar papers, etc.) demonstrates the student’s ability for independent creative work, so the author must be solely the student. Otherwise, such work should not be defended. The supervisor (a BUT employee) should ensure that their support does not exceed the framework of professional guidance. This applies to rights to copyright works, i.e., literary, artistic, or scientific works (usually the text of the work).

For technical solutions (inventions), the situation may differ, as the supervisor (a BUT employee) may be considered the originator or co-originator if they contributed inventively. To avoid later disputes, it is advisable to specify in the assignment what the supervisor has already developed and what is left for the student to solve or complete.

If a student creates knowledge in collaboration with a BUT employee, the employee should report the knowledge according to BUT's internal guidelines, listing the student as a co-originator. The relevant knowledge transfer staff will contractually settle the student’s rights to the knowledge (e.g., via an assignment agreement).

Can a bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, or rigorous thesis be restricted from publication?

According to Czech law (Act on Higher Education Institutions No. 111/1998 Coll., § 47b), by submitting a thesis for defense, the author agrees to its publication. The thesis must be available for public review at least 5 working days before the defense.

In justified cases, it is possible to delay publication of a part or all of the thesis for up to 3 years due to obstacles to publication. This period should provide enough time to secure industrial property protection (e.g., patent) or to complete the commercialization of the knowledge.

It is also worth considering whether sensitive knowledge needs to be included in the thesis or if the objectives can be met without it. Additionally, findings may be presented partially, so that the entire knowledge is not apparent, or key data representing the knowledge can be replaced with relative values, from which the actual knowledge is not clear.