Excellence Everywhere - National University of Ireland, Galway

priority among a paper’s authors. However, agreeto revisit authorship as publication nears. Therelative contributions of different participants oftenchanges from what was originally envisioned.Once you have a sense of whether the data fromyour experiments can be published, discuss plansfor publication immediately; do not wait until amanuscript draft is prepared.Pursuing Patents. If patents are sought, applicationsshould be filed before the work is presentedpublicly or published; otherwise, rights will be lost.Do not jeopardize your own or the other party’sintellectual property rights by disclosing yourresults prematurely.If your collaboration produces patentable discoveries,you will undoubtedly need to deal with thelegal concept of “joint intellectual property.”Joint intellectual property is that created jointly bycollaborating researchers. Generally, you will haveto assign your ownership in intellectual propertyto your institution or employer, and your collaboratormust do the same at his or her institution.Each party in the collaboration will retain its own“background” intellectual property, that is, theintellectual property it owned before undertakingthe project. Each party will also retain the intellectualproperty rights to discoveries created solelyby its own researchers in the course of the project.The collaborators’ institutions may file a joint patentapplication that names inventors from bothinstitutions, and the institutions will hold thepatent jointly. Often, the institutions will need toreach an agreement on management and licensingof the intellectual property, so that any royaltiescan be shared according to an agreed-upon formula.If you think a joint patent application is a likelyoutcome of your collaboration, ask yourself thesequestions before you begin the collaboration:n What aspects of the proposed project are sointeractive that any potential discoveries will beowned jointly?n What aspects of shared work are the propertyof one laboratory?n When and how will you discuss patents andpublications with workers in your laboratories?n Who will take responsibility for and incur theexpense of filing joint patent applications?n Who will maintain the patents once received?See chapter 12 for more information about thepatent process, including the effect disclosurescan have on the ability to obtain patent rights.Personal Qualitiesof a Good CollaboratorFairnessn Be sure to give credit where it is due.Honestyn Disclose anything that might affectsomeone’s decision to collaborate.n Once the collaboration is underway, bewilling to “cut through the nonsense”and offer constructive criticism.n Be clear and open about other relationships,which may include some withpeople who are in conflict with oneanother.Effortn Put your full effort into the project.n Carry your fair share of the labor andfinancial outlays.Opennessn Stay in touch with your collaboratorthroughout the project, especiallywhen there are problems or delays.n Try to resolve problems with yourcollaborator directly.Reliabilityn Deliver what you have promised,on time.Respectn Appreciate your collaborator’scontributions.n Never assume that your contributionsare more important than those of yourcollaborator.collaboration153