Groups of persons and the relevant regulations:

• Research staff members, doctoral candidates & technicians:
  All inventions made during the course of employment are deemed to be service inventions and must be reported to the university in writing without delay. The university decides whether to claim the patent (patent claim).
   
• Professors (formerly the academic privilege):
  Since the amendment to the Employee Inventions Act in 2002, professors have been subject to the same rules as other university staff regarding the duty to report and exploitation rights. However, they enjoy special privileges regarding publications.
   
• Students:
  Enrolled students are generally not employed by universities. Therefore, their inventions generally belong to them (‘independent inventions’). An exception applies only if they are employed as research assistants, are funded by third-party grants, or make inventions within the scope of laboratory work covered by their employment contracts.