National Code of Practice for Managing Intellectual Property ... - Forfás

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SECTION B – IP MANAGEMENT
B.1 FORMAL AGREEMENT BEFORE WORK STARTS
Putting in place agreements between collaborating partners before work starts, and maintaining these throughout
the work, reduces uncertainties, promotes trust and protects the rights of partners. Collaborative research projects
should be covered from the start by a formal agreement that describes the project, including the future ownership
and access arrangements, management and exploitation (in as far as possible given the stage of the research) of IP.
The time it takes to negotiate an agreement is a key determinant of the attractiveness of a collaborative research
project, particularly to the industrial partner. The partners should complete the negotiation of the agreement
as quickly as possible. The conclusion of the agreement may represent the first step in an evolving relationship
entailing a series of agreements and/ or amendments lasting a number of years. The partners should also agree a
process for making alterations to this agreement in order to maximise exploitation.
Guidelines:
Parties should endeavour to reach agreement in as short a period as possible, and in any event within a maximum
of 90 days.
The formal agreement should explicitly state:
4 The purpose of the project.
4 The identity and roles of each partner, the activities that each will carry out, and the management structure
including:
8 The lead contact point for each partner;
8 The project manager;
8 The members of the project technical team. This should consist of work package leaders from each partner,
lead contact points and any external experts;
8 The members of the project management team. This should consist of one member from each partner,
who has authority to represent that partner in financial matters and to negotiate on behalf of that partner.
4 The provision of funding and in-kind contributions by partners and the total allocated costs of the project.