Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Tip for Users of Electronic Resources
A diploma thesis is an original author’s work, protected by copyright. It is created as part of the educational process and is a mandatory requirement for completing a study program. In addition to the writing itself, the successful defense of the thesis is also required to fulfill this objective.
From the perspective of copyright law, the public defense of a diploma thesis constitutes its first publication. In this context, the public’s right to information and the free flow of knowledge precedes the author’s exclusive control of their work.
The public may only be excluded when publication would infringe upon other legally protected interests.
Following the first publication, certain statutory limitations of copyright may apply. Since diploma theses are preserved as part of higher education institutions' library collections (in print or electronic form), private reproduction and citation are the two most relevant limitations.
Although this discussion primarily focuses on diploma theses, the same principles can be analogously applied to master’s and doctoral dissertations.
(Source: A. Primec: Nekatera aktualna vprašanja v zvezi z avtorstvom diplomskih del. V: Podjetje in delo 32(2006)1:207-210)
