Drafting, Understanding and Working with Contracts: An Advanced-Level Workshop

This practical, ‘hands on’ course provides a structured discussion of various types of intellectual property (IP) clauses in research contracts and other IP-rich agreements. We focus on why each clause is needed, how such clauses tend to be worded and negotiated, alternative clauses that are encountered, and how the outcome of the negotiations may affect your organisation’s interests. Specific topics to 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; compromise proposals
• Drafting: the importance of accurate drafting of IP terms; how to avoid ambiguity
• Managing IP risks through appropriate contract terms and other measures, including due diligence