Contracts

A contract is an agreement between two or more parties, regardless of its form. An email-correspondence can qualify as a binding contract, as long as an ‘offer’ made by one party is ‘accepted’ by the other party.

It is important to involve TTO at an early stage whenever it is expected that arrangements in any way will have to be made with respect to (the results of) research activities. For example, not only publication rights of the researcher should
be covered in the agreement, but also a fair clause on intellectual property rights is essential for every research related contract. 

As a general guideline, the following subjects should be included in every contract:

• Main obligation of Parties (milestones and timing)
• Financials
• Intellectual Property Rights
• Liability
• Confidentiality
• Warranties
• Publication and Research Rights
• Term and early Termination
• Choice of Law

TTO has developed a number of contract templates that are available for researchers and managers. In many cases, however, it is advisable to contact TTO upfront to assist in drafting a customized agreement.

The following chapters show for what kind of contracts TTO provides support:

• Research contracts
• Contracts on protection and exploitation of know-how / IPR