Negotiating IP Rights in Industry Sponsored Research Agreements

This CLE course will guide counsel on negotiating and structuring industry-sponsored research agreements (SRAs) to allocate IP ownership. The panel will outline the challenges of SRAs with nonprofit organizations and discuss key provisions of the SRA to protect IP rights and avoid unintended consequences.

Companies that fund research typically seek ownership of the research results, including all IP rights, relying on provisions in research agreements to expand their IP rights or specify financial details for future inventions.

Counsel may have to include multiple licenses in SRAs if researchers need access to inventions owned by others. The SRA must also address ownership, licensing rights, confidentiality, rights to future IP, and enforcement of all IP rights.

Practitioners face unique challenges when working with clients involved in SRAs with universities or other nonprofit organizations. Universities and other nonprofits risk jeopardizing the institution's tax-exempt status when negotiating financial terms for licensing IP to a sponsor under an SRA.

Listen as our authoritative panel of patent attorneys examines considerations and outlines critical provisions, offering best practices for negotiating and structuring SRAs. The panel will break down the challenges for counsel involved in contracting with a nonprofit organization and explain the confidentiality obligations of SRAs.