Confidentiality and protection of intellectual property

DURING YOUR PHD
Protect confidential information, research data, inventions and other intellectual assets throughout your doctoral research and before any publication, thesis submission or other public disclosure.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Protect first, disclose afterwards
A thesis, article, conference presentation, dataset, software repository or informal communication may disclose confidential information or results that could be protected. These issues must be assessed before the information becomes public.
IMPORTANT
Do not wait until thesis submission
Confidentiality and intellectual-property issues should be identified as soon as they arise. Public disclosure can affect confidentiality obligations and may prejudice the possibility of obtaining certain forms of intellectual or industrial property protection.
01 — Information and results that may require protection

Confidential or protectable information may be acquired or generated during research carried out at UNICAM, at another university or research institution, within a company or as part of a funded project.

Information or result Examples
Unpublished research results Experimental results, preliminary findings, methods and research hypotheses.
Research data Raw and processed data, databases, images, recordings and laboratory documentation.
Technical information Protocols, prototypes, formulas, algorithms, software and technical specifications.
Third-party information Information received from companies, partner institutions, research groups or project participants.
Personal data Information relating to research participants or identifiable individuals, including special categories of personal data where applicable.
Potentially protectable results Inventions, software, databases, designs, know-how, plant varieties and other intellectual or industrial assets.
02 — Who should be involved?

Protection of research results requires early coordination between the PhD candidate, Supervisor and the relevant University offices.

Person or office Main role
PhD candidate Treat confidential information appropriately, comply with applicable agreements and promptly inform the Supervisor before potentially restricted information or research results are disclosed.
Supervisor Assesses the research context with the candidate and involves the relevant UNICAM offices when confidentiality, ownership or protection issues arise.
Programme Coordinator Should be involved where confidentiality or intellectual-property issues affect Programme-level decisions, external collaborations, mobility or the final examination procedure.
Area Ricerca e Trasferimento Tecnologico Provides specialist support concerning intellectual and industrial property, technology transfer and research agreements.
Advanced Studies Office Must be informed when confidentiality affects thesis submission, external review, embargo or the organisation of the final examination.
CONFIDENTIALITY OBLIGATIONS
03 — Confidential information and agreements
Confidentiality obligations may arise directly from the PhD Regulations or from agreements governing a research project, scholarship, host institution or collaboration with an external organisation.
Source Check
UNICAM PhD Regulations For candidates governed by the Regulations applicable from Cycle XLI, confidentiality obligations are expressly regulated and a specific declaration validated by the academic Supervisor is required according to the applicable procedure.
Research or funding agreement Ownership of results, confidentiality periods, publication review and reporting obligations.
Host-institution agreement Conditions governing information and results generated or received during external research.
Non-disclosure agreement Definition of confidential information, permitted use, disclosure restrictions and duration.
Co-tutelle or joint-degree agreement Allocation of intellectual-property rights and any specific provisions governing thesis review and defence.
Do not sign documents on behalf of UNICAM or accept provisions intended to bind the University unless you are formally authorised to do so. Agreements involving UNICAM must follow the appropriate institutional procedure.
04 — Research data, documents and materials

Research information and materials should be handled according to their level of confidentiality, the research protocol and the agreements governing the project.

Area Good practice
Storage Use storage methods and access controls consistent with institutional, project and data-protection requirements.
Access Share restricted information only with persons authorised to access it for the research activity.
External transfer Check whether authorisation, an agreement or a specific transfer method is required before sending data, documents or materials outside UNICAM.
Third-party material Check permitted use, reproduction and dissemination before including external material in publications or the thesis.
Personal data Confidentiality does not replace applicable data-protection, ethics or informed-consent requirements.
BEFORE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
05 — Publications, presentations and other research outputs

Check possible restrictions before making research results available outside the authorised research environment.

Before disclosure Check
Confidential information Ensure that information belonging to UNICAM or third parties may lawfully be disclosed.
Potential invention Determine whether disclosure could prejudice industrial-property protection.
Contractual obligations Check whether funders or partners are entitled to prior review or whether a temporary publication delay applies.
Authorship and contributors Ensure that authorship and acknowledgements appropriately reflect contributions.
Funding requirements Include any required project codes, funding statements, acknowledgements or logos.
Data protection and ethics Verify compliance with consent, ethical approvals and applicable data-protection rules.
Public disclosure may include journal articles, preprints, conference abstracts, posters, presentations, repositories, software releases, websites, social media and communications to persons who are not bound by confidentiality.
POTENTIALLY PROTECTABLE RESULTS
06 — Intellectual and industrial property
If your research produces a potentially innovative or protectable result, discuss it with your Supervisor and contact the UNICAM Area Ricerca e Trasferimento Tecnologico before publication or other public disclosure.
Step Who Action
1 Candidate and Supervisor Identify the result, contributors and circumstances in which it was generated.
2 Candidate and Supervisor Avoid public disclosure until the possible need for protection has been assessed.
3 Technology-transfer service Supports assessment of the result and the possible protection or exploitation pathway.
4 UNICAM and any partners Verify applicable ownership rules, funding conditions and contractual obligations.
5 Candidate and Supervisor Coordinate publication or thesis disclosure with any agreed protection timetable.
07 — Ownership depends on the research context

The fact that a candidate produced a result or wrote the doctoral thesis does not by itself determine all intellectual or industrial property rights connected with the research.

Factor Why it matters
Nature of the result Different rules may apply to inventions, software, databases, publications, designs, know-how and other results.
Contributors The contributions of the candidate, Supervisor, research group and external collaborators may need to be assessed.
Funding source Public or private funding may impose specific rules concerning ownership, protection or exploitation.
Partner institutions Joint research may involve shared rights or allocations established by an agreement.
Third-party rights External data, software, materials or information may be subject to separate rights or restrictions.
08 — External research periods and company collaborations

Confidentiality, use of background knowledge and ownership of new results should be clarified before beginning research at an external institution or company whenever the activity is governed by an agreement or involves restricted information.

Before the activity Check
Applicable agreement Whether a project, partnership, host, co-tutelle or other institutional agreement already governs the activity.
Background information Which data, software, know-how or materials each party brings to the collaboration.
New results How ownership, protection and possible exploitation of newly generated results will be handled.
Publication rights Whether a partner has a contractual right to review proposed publications or request a justified temporary delay.
Doctoral thesis How confidentiality requirements can be reconciled with external review, public defence and final deposit.

Mobility abroad →

09 — Confidentiality during the thesis procedure

Confidentiality and intellectual-property issues must be coordinated with the formal thesis procedure. The Supervisor and candidate should inform the relevant offices promptly if additional protective measures may be necessary.

Thesis phase Check
During drafting Identify confidential information, third-party material and potentially protectable results early.
Before submission Confirm that the version submitted through the official portal can be transmitted for the external review procedure.
External review Inform the Advanced Studies Office in advance where additional confidentiality measures may be required for transmission to reviewers.
Public defence Plan how protected information can be managed consistently with the public nature of the final examination.
Final deposit Check whether a justified embargo must be requested before the thesis becomes openly accessible.

Thesis and external review → Final examination and graduation →

THESIS EMBARGO
10 — Temporary restriction of public access

An embargo restricts access to the full text of the deposited thesis for an authorised period while the bibliographic information and abstract remain available through the institutional repository.

Cycle XLI and subsequent cycles
Under the current UNICAM PhD Regulations, a candidate may request that the thesis become freely accessible only after a period of up to 18 months where this is necessary for the protection and exploitation of industrial and/or intellectual property rights.

Other confidentiality or contractual issues affecting publication of the thesis should be reported to the Supervisor and competent offices before submission so that the appropriate solution can be identified under the rules governing the specific case.

An embargo is not automatic. The request must be submitted through the applicable procedure and signed as required before the final thesis deposit.

Download the embargo request · PDF → Thesis submission and external review →

11 — Quick operational workflow
Step Phase Action
1 Identify Recognise confidential, third-party or potentially protectable information and results.
2 Check Review the applicable PhD rules, project documents and agreements.
3 Protect Apply appropriate controls to storage, access, transmission and disclosure.
4 Consult Contact the relevant UNICAM office before publication when protection, ownership or contractual restrictions are uncertain.
5 Coordinate Align any protection procedure with publication, external review, public defence and final thesis deposit.
OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLE
Raise confidentiality and protection issues before disclosure
Once confidential information or a potentially protectable result has been disclosed publicly, it may no longer be possible to restore confidentiality or preserve all available protection options.
SPECIALIST SUPPORT
Is a result confidential or potentially protectable?
Discuss the issue with your Supervisor and contact the UNICAM Area Ricerca e Trasferimento Tecnologico before publication, thesis disclosure or communication of the result to an external party. For issues concerning the thesis procedure itself, contact the Advanced Studies Office.