The Importance of Intellectual Property Agreements

On September 20, 2024, we held the 3rd Academia Clinical Development Seminar online, inviting Prof. Yasuyuki Ueki from the Co-Creation Bureau, Innovation Division, Osaka University, to speak on The Importance of Intellectual Property Agreements.

First, he talked about the types of research results in academia. There are seven types of research results in research contracts, including inventions, expertise, and clinical research data. There are various types of research contracts, and in this seminar, he introduced five types of contract specifications, starting with non-disclosure agreements, collaborative research agreements, license agreements, MTAs, and clinical research data transfer agreements. First, he told us the points to be careful about in the non-disclosure agreement. Since not all disclosed information is treated as confidential, it is necessary to clearly state in writing what information must be kept confidential. In addition, in collaborative research, even if the patent is an invention made solely by the facility, the collaborating companies also have the right to handle it. Therefore, in cases where a start-up or highly versatile technology needs to be widely implemented in society by many companies, the facility needs to make an invention solely without collaborative research. Next, he explained the significance of patent applications, and we learned that patent applications are essential in enabling social implementation in various forms. In addition, he talked about the setting of consideration when forming the contract. Consideration is divided into two parts: a contract lump sum and royalties. The return to the inventor will be 1/3 of (the inventor's contribution + royalties). In this seminar, he gave an easy-to-understand explanation with examples for researchers who are not familiar with contracts and patents. There was an active question-and-answer session with the participants, and the seminar ended with great success.

The next Academia Clinical Development Seminar will be held in November 2024. We will announce the details on this page later, and we look forward to seeing many of you at the next seminar.