Preserving your company’s interests in joint-development and collaborative agreements

Joint Development & Collaboration Technology

• Structuring a “flexible” agreement that can be adjusted based on the evolving needs of the parties and the technology that is being developed
• Ensuring provisions are included to address ownership of the jointly-created technology: assignment vs. license; field of use limitations; exclusivity; grant-back rights; “background” IP rights
• Delegating responsibility for indemnification, representations and warranties among the parties

Discussing what companies seek from universities

• Delineating what constitutes an alliance vs. a partnership when licensing technology with a university
• Understanding typical business models for establishing relationships with universities
• Negotiating key terms in the license agreement – retained rights, diligence, patent challenge language, sublicensing