Embargoes and Intellectual Property

Withholding a thesis
Application to withhold a thesis
Length of withholding period
Contractual obligations
Description of intellectual property
University policy on intellectual property

Withholding A Thesis

In keeping with world-wide academic practice, The University of Waikato endorses the principle that research theses are, by their very nature, available for public inspection. In so doing, it helps to ensure that intellectual developments can be appraised, used, and built upon by all interested parties. It is usually possible to write a thesis that can be made public based on research and data that may be confidential. Candidates and their supervisors should design their research to that end. However, the University also recognises that in unusual situations, theses contain material that, for commercial or security reasons, should be withheld from the public for a period after the thesis has been completed.

The withholding of a thesis is an injunction against the release of the thesis for public consultation in the University Library. This may be granted by the Postgraduate Studies Committee only in response to a request from the chief supervisor, or from the candidate, provided that the request is endorsed by his/her chief supervisor. In order to gain the Committee's approval, the request must clearly demonstrate that the thesis contains material of such a confidential or sensitive nature that its release to the public would do one of the following:
(a) breach prior contractual arrangements with, or seriously damage the interests of, outside organisations connected with the candidate's research
(b) endanger the confidentiality of material that might be the subject of an application for a patent, licence or registration by the candidate, the University, or other interested parties
(c) contravene legislation or threaten national security

Approval will not normally be granted for any other reasons. Material that the candidate would not wish to be available to the public on grounds other than those above should not be included in thesis.

Application To Withhold A Thesis

When the need for withholding a thesis has been identified, the chairperson of the Postgraduate Studies Committee and the manager of the UNILink Office should be consulted immediately so that all options can be explored to minimise the extent of any restrictions.

An application for withholding a thesis should normally be made when the candidate applies for registration as a higher degree student of the University. If a candidate is receiving support from a commercial or governmental establishment for whom he/she is carrying out the thesis research, the it will usually be clear at the time of registration that conditions (a) or (b) for an embargo are likely to be fulfilled when the thesis is completed.

However, there are circumstances when the confidential/sensitive nature of the thesis research does not become clear until that research is near completion. For that reason, requests for an embargo may be made up to the time of submission for the thesis for examination. Applications will not normally be accepted after the thesis has been submitted.

Length Of Withholding Period

An embargo will be approved only for a limited period (calendar). The normal maximum period that a thesis may be withheld is two years, dating from the official notification that the candidate (in practice - on the form - this has been 2 years from submission) has been awarded the degree for which the thesis was presented.

Contractual Obligations

If an embargo is required under contractual obligations this will be arranged in the first place by UNILink who advise the Postgraduate Studies Office. The candidate's file is noted so that the correct action can be taken during examination of the thesis.

When it becomes clear at any stage during the course of the research, or even at the time of submission, that an embargo is required, a request should be submitted to the Postgraduate Studies Committee, via the UNILink office, using an Application to Embargo form. Applications will not normally be accepted after the thesis has been submitted.

In all cases where a thesis is to be embargoed, the thesis must be examined under confidentiality, arranged by the Examinations Office or the Postgraduate Studies Office as appropriate.

Description Of Intellectual Property

Intellectual property (IP) relates to original works of authorship, technology, products, processes designs, plant varieties, goodwill and trade marks. Although intangible, the law recognizes intellectual property to be just as much a form of property as land, housing. Thus intellectual property can be sold, leased, damaged and trespassed upon.

Since intellectual property is intangible, it is important that its scope and ownership be clearly defined to enable the legal rights of the owner to be enforced. This is made possible with patents, design and trademark registrations, plant variety rights, copyright protection, and recognition of ownership.

It is an important principle that theses should be public documents. Requirements associated with intellectual property should not be allowed to restrict public access to theses without a strong case being made.

University Policy On Intellectual Property

The University's policy with regard to intellectual property, its commercialisation and involvement of students in creating intellectual property is set out in the 'Handbook on Research and Outside Professional Activities' available to University of Waikato staff from Faculty/School offices or from UNILink.

The intellectual property incorporated in a thesis may contain contributions from many sources and situations. These can include input from staff members, use of University resources, development by the candidate before enrolment for the degree programme and/or created during research carried out in the premises of, or with resources of, a Crown Research Institute or company. In such situations, the University seeks to be fair to all parties and to set out the rights of each party in an agreement.

The chief supervisor is responsible for identifying intellectual property to the University by following the procedures set out in the 'Handbook on Research and Outside Professional Activities'. A candidate who knows or believes that he/she has created intellectual property should report that knowledge or belief to the chief supervisor to enable appropriate action to be taken. The UNILink Office should be advised as soon as possible so that until a decision has been made on ownership and rights, the entire matter of intellectual property should remain confidential to protect the rights to ownership and benefits to be derived from ownership.

Publication prior to the granting of a provisional patent is likely to prevent patenting of any research result. Staff are encouraged to declare to the Deputy Vice Chancellor, through the University Research Manager, at the earliest opportunity, the development of a patentable discovery so that legal advice on the options available can be obtained.

Where a student of staff member brings to a project intellectual property of which he or she has already established ownership, that must be disclosed to the chief supervisor, head of department, and to the UNILink Office before a University project begins. An agreement for use of the intellectual property will then be negotiated with its owner.

If a student receives a scholarship or funds from any source outside the University, the University will not recognize such support as giving the funding person or body intellectual property rights over any knowledge created as part of the candidate's university work unless contractual arrangements with the University have been entered into.

If an outside person or body provides intellectual property to a candidate for use in the candidate's university work (e.g. research to be reported in the thesis), that provision must be reported by the provider or candidate to the UNILink Office before that intellectual property is used. The University will then seek to establish an agreement with the provider for conditions of use.

Where intellectual property is created during the course of research carried out in preparation for presenting a thesis, it is essential that the UNILink Office is informed as soon as possible so that suitable arrangements can be made for protection of intellectual property during examination and lodgement of the thesis in the University Library.

The development of intellectual property during research of a postgraduate candidate usually involves input from both academic supervisors and the candidate. It is normal practice for all contributors to be recognized as joint authors of resulting publications and the University encourages such recognition. The University does not support the inclusion of people in authorship who have not contributed to the research.

The University must ensure that the rights to exploit intellectual property developed by staff are disposed of only for value.