The maker of a work does not always hold copyright. For works which were made within the frame of an employment contract, which were made by several authors, and which were made under direction and supervision of someone else, copyright does not rest with the work's (physical) maker. An author may also 'lose' copyright to their work by transferring it to someone else.
Copyright and teaching materials
Teaching materials are resources that were developed for the purpose of teaching within the employment at TU/e. According to the Article 7 of Dutch Copyright Act, where an employee has been specifically employed to produce a work or it has been commissioned as part of expected duties, the employer holds the copyright, unless an agreement exists that states otherwise. Copyright to teaching materials developed within the employment at TU/e belongs to the University.
Copyright and scholarly work
Copyright to scholarly work produced by academic staff such as PhD dissertations, journal articles, books and monographs belongs to the creator and not the employer (University).
Copyright and graduation works
Students own copyright to their theses, unless there is a written agreement to transfer the copyright to the University, or research supervisor, or the commercial enterprise where the research has been carried out. Where research has been carried out in collaboration with trade or industry, it is important that agreement is reached over the ownership of the copyright in the research beforehand.
Transfer of copyright ownership
By assigning copyright ownership to someone else, the author transfers control over its future publication or reproduction rights to the new owner. But the author almost always retains moral rights to his/her work regardless of the copyright owner. This provides the creator of a work the right to be identified as the author and the right to take legal action against any change modification of the work. Transfer of copyright must be put in writing. Publishers and institutions make use of so-called 'copyright transfer forms' or 'copyright transfer agreements'.