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The contract on copyright at Aalto University

A copyright agreement between Aalto University and the employee is stipulated as part of the Aalto University employment contract. According to the employment contract, in projects with external funding, the ownership of copyright to the project results is transferred 91ÇàÇà²Ý University. This contract makes it possible for Aalto University to comply with compliance with the funding terms for the external funding (such as Horizon Europe or Business Finland terms) and ensures achieving  societal impact with the research project  results.

However, the university has a "grant back" policy regarding academic publications, meaning that the researchers sign publishing agreements for academic publications in the capacity of the owner of the copyright, regardless of the funding source for the project. The researcher is required to comply with the funder's terms to include funder information in the publication in a manner defined by the funder.

Rights to a database under the Copyright Act

Copyright protects the original form of the database. A database is usually not original enough to be considered a work, but if such an original work were to be created during employment, it would be subject to very detailed provisions in copyright law. Such an original database created as part of employment duties becomes the property of the employer according to Copyright Act Section 40 b §, unless it is created by a university researcher, who is doing independent research in the university.

However, the Copyright Act also contains Section 49 §, legislating the catalogue right and the database right. The catalogue right and the database right are granted to the investor, the employer, if the database is created in an employment relationship. The data itself is not protected, but these rights are directly granted by law to the employer, i.e., the ownership rights rest with the employer, the university, even when the database is created with basic funding.

Rights to computer programs created in the employment relationship

If a computer program, which is an original work, is created while fulfilling duties arising from the employment relationship, the copyright to the computer program automatically transfers to the employer under Section 40 b § of the Copyright Act, unless the program is developed by a researcher working independently in university research. For the results of projects with external funding, rights are transferred to the university according to the employment contract.