Research Contracts and Confidentiality
Research Contracts and Confidentiality
By Daniel VENTRE
CNRS.
Industrial and International Relations of the IRIT (Computer Science Research Institute of Toulouse) UMR
5505 (CNRS/INPT/UPS).
Teaching Law at The University of Toulouse (France)
I
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Research in Partnership
II
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Research Contracts
III
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Objectives and Contents of the Conventions
IV
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Protecting the Interests
V
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Confidentiality
VI
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Consequences of confidentiality
VII
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Conclusions
I - Research in Partnership
In France, most of R&D activities of Public and Academic Research Laboratories (laboratories of the
Universities, laboratories of Research organisms such as CNRS, INRIA, INSERM…, laboratories of High
Schools such as Polytechnique or High National School of Telecommunications), are developed through
partnerships with actors of private sector.
These partners may be of various nature.
For example they can be :
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Start-ups, SMEs, big companies… multinational companies
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NPOs, Associations, Foundations…
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"Intermediaries" facilitating Transfer of Technologies (Incubators, Consulting Companies…)
- …
They also could be :
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Regional, National or International Partners
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Commercial or non-commercial structures
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Partners with or without internal R&D Departments
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Partners from various sectors of activity : Education, Culture, Space Industry, Aeronautics, Defence,
Transports, Medicine, Services, Production, Energy, Environment, Telecommunications…
II – Research Contracts
When a collaboration has to be initiated between a public research laboratory and Private sector Partners,
Contracts are negotiated and signed by the Parties (University, CNRS, Industrial partner…)
These Contracts are adapted to each form of partnership and each purpose of collaboration:
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Contracts will have different forms, depending on the needs of the collaboration : Research Contracts
(Basic Research, Applied Research) or non-Research Contracts (Con