Intellectual Property (IP) that is developed during the internship, according to the Dutch law, already completely belongs to the company in case of an educational internship. This does not require any additional agreements between the company and the educational institution.
For the students, it is important to come to an agreement with the company about possible compensation and confidentiality, whereas for the latter holds that publication in the university library is mandatory for graduation; exceptions are not possible; masking of data is not desirable either. Furthermore, it is important for students' career paths that the company does not demand prolongation of the IP-rights long after the internship.
For all aforementioned issues, the department can't and won't take responsibility. Possibly, in case the company insists, the mentor can sign a confidentiality agreement, but then solely regarding confidentiality.
Internship Agreements
| Student | Mentor | Department | |
| Compensation | The student will personally come to an agreement with the company about compensation | ||
| Confidentiality | If requested, the student can personally sign for confidentiality for the duration of the internship (with a possible prolongation of max. 5 yrs after the internship)
The student will personally assure that he/she can meet all requirements for graduation, including mandatory publication of the thesis in the university library (masking of data is not desirable) | If requested, the mentor and the second assesor can sign for confidentiality for the duration of the internship (with a possible prolongation of max. 5 yrs after the internship) | |
| IP | The student will personally prevent that he/she signs away his/her IP-rights after the internship; this can severely impede his/her career for the future | IP that is developed during the internship, according to the Dutch law, already completely belongs to the company in case of an educational internship; this does not require any additional agreements between the company and the educational institution |
In case a company does not agree with the principles mentioned above, then please refer the negotiations to Drs. M. van der Hoeven, managing director (secretariaat.bv@tue.nl).