Overview

This practical, online short course provides a structured discussion of various types of intellectual property (IP) clauses in research contracts and other IP-rich agreements.

You'll learn about:

• why each clause is needed
• how such clauses tend to be worded and negotiated
• alternative clauses that are encountered
• how the outcome of the negotiations may affect your organisation's interests

This course will focus mainly on IP-related topics. Practitioners who require training in all aspects of contracts (work and payment terms, limitation of liability, law and jurisdiction, confidentiality, duration and termination, etc.) should consider combining this course with a more general contracts course.

Course content

Topics that will be covered include:

• IP terms that are encountered in research grants, EU consortium agreements, Lambert agreements, MTAs and other IP-rich contracts: what is essential (or required by a funder) and what is 'nice to have'? 
• Negotiating issues, including arguments for and against particular IP clauses and compromise proposals 
• Drafting: the importance of accurate drafting of IP terms and how to avoid ambiguity 
• Managing IP risks through appropriate contract terms and other measures, including due diligence

Who this course is for

The course is intended for:

• contracts managers
• technology transfer and licensing executives
• lawyers, patent attorneys and other practitioners whose job involves reviewing or drafting IP terms in research contracts

The level of the course is higher than a general introduction but not a legal 'masterclass'.

You'll be expected to understand the basics of the international IP system, and will probably have some practical experience of negotiating IP terms, so you can participate in the discussion. However, you're not expected to have had extensive experience or training in intellectual property.

Teaching and structure 

This course is run online over 2 consecutive days. You'll need to attend from 9.45am to 1.15pm each day. 

You'll need to download Zoom to your computer or use the online version of Zoom. You'll be sent the meeting id number and password on the Friday before your course.

You'll be able to access course materials via a SharePoint site.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course you should have a better understanding of:

• the IP issues that arise in research contracts and in preliminary agreements such as MTAs and term sheets
• different ways of addressing those issues when drafting and negotiating such contracts
• the different approaches to IP taken in certain industry-standard research contracts
• how research contracts manage risk through warranties on IP issues

Pre-course preparation

Although not essential, you may find it helpful to read the Lambert IP decision tree materials published by UK Intellectual Property Office on the GOV.UK website.

Cost and concessions

The standard price is £600.

A discounted price of £510 is available for:

• UCL Alumni
• UCL Institute of Brand and Innovation Law sponsoring firms
• academic institutions
• NGOs

Course team

Mark Anderson

Mark is a practising solicitor, who is recommended in Chambers Directory for both life science transactions and IP. He's recommended in the international guide, IAM Patent 1000, as a leading UK lawyer in the field of IP licensing. His blog on IP contracts, IP Draughts, was made a member of the Blawg100 by the American Bar Association in 2012. He's a Certified Licensing Professional (a qualification established by the Licensing Executives Society (US and Canada)) and a Registered Technology Transfer Professional.

He's run CPD courses on IP and contract subjects since the 1990s. He is a visiting lecturer at the UCL Faculty of Laws, and is the course director of a 5-day course, Intellectual Property Transactions: Law and Practice, which is run by UCL’s Institute of Brand and Innovation Law. This course has won two awards: a Law Society Excellence Award (Highly Commended) in the Learning and Development category, and a UCL Provost’s Teaching Award.

Course information last modified: 13 Dec 2023, 15:53