I'm a professor at a university, and I work with a lot of undergraduates on class projects and on research projects. Universities tend to be murky when it comes to student IP. When you graduate and go to work for the Man, He'll spell out very clearly what He owns. I've seen corporate IP agreements broad enough to lay claim to what you dream in your own bed.
Recently, I asked our university's IP person about the issue of student IP. She's not a lawyer, and we didn't get a ruling from our legal department, but her opinion was that classwork is the property of the student, whereas thesis work and paid research work, whether internally or externally funded, is the property of the university.
Legally, the university owns what I produce also, although they give me great freedom to propagate what I discover. On the other hand, if I designed potentially valuable drugs, then I might not feel so free.
There was some good advice in the replies (don't share your best ideas; work on your own equipment). Why not have a conversation with your professor to determine what he or she thinks?
Ultimately, you probably have little to worry about, for many of the reasons discussed in the replies, but it's always your responsibility to understand who owns what and under what circumstances.
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Recently, I asked our university's IP person about the issue of student IP. She's not a lawyer, and we didn't get a ruling from our legal department, but her opinion was that classwork is the property of the student, whereas thesis work and paid research work, whether internally or externally funded, is the property of the university.
Legally, the university owns what I produce also, although they give me great freedom to propagate what I discover. On the other hand, if I designed potentially valuable drugs, then I might not feel so free.
There was some good advice in the replies (don't share your best ideas; work on your own equipment). Why not have a conversation with your professor to determine what he or she thinks?
Ultimately, you probably have little to worry about, for many of the reasons discussed in the replies, but it's always your responsibility to understand who owns what and under what circumstances.