IP rights in FP7

PROTECT Study Visit10th June 2008 (Alicante)

IPR-Helpdesk is a constituent part of the IP-BASE project which is financed by the CIP Programme, DG Enterprise and Industry of the

European Commission

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European Innovation and Research policies

EC Treaty: Articles 163-173 TEC

Pluriannual Framework Programmes:

CIP (2007-2013): EUR 3.6 MFP7 EC (2007-2013) 50.5 MFP7 EURATOM (2007-2011) 2.7 M

Rules of participation Reg. 1906/2006

(Model) Grant Agreement

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Innovation and Research in the EU

- FP7 - Grant Agreement - Consortium Agreement

- IP Base (NPO+IPR HD)- IPR Helpdesk services

- EU relationship Ukraine

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Why is IP management important in research projects?

Who (and how) will exploit the results?

Who will be the owner of the new results?

Under which conditions are they going to exchange their

existing knowledge?

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FP7 project-related agreements

- Core Grant Agreement- Annex I (technical description)- Annex II (general conditions)- Annex III (specific conditions)- Special clauses

- Consortium Agreement- Other specific agreements (joint ownership, confidentiality)

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Grant Agreement – Annex II (general conditions)

I.BackgroundForeground

II. Protection of results (IP rights)

III.Access rights(licensing)

IV.Use anddisseminationof results

V.Other issues(e.g. confidentiality)

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The background

- Background: project-related information (necessary) and IP rights that participants hold before the signature of the grant agreement- Background remains the property of the participant that brings it into the project- Participants shall inform each other of any limitations to access background

- The consortium may define the background available to the project (positive list)- The consortium may exclude specific background (negative list)

BB B

BB

BBB B

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The foreground

-Foreground: results generated in the project and related IP rights- Each participant is owner of the foreground it generates - Employees’ and other personnel rights to be taken into consideration-Each participant shall protect its own foreground if commercially or industrially applicable

- When foreground generated by common efforts and not possible to ascertain individual contributions: co-ownership regime- Each joint owner may grant non-exclusive licences to third parties, subject to prior notice and fair and reasonable compensation to the other joint owners (default rule)

F F FF

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Intellectual Property (IP) rights

patents and utility models

designs

trade secrets

Copyright

trade marks

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Access rights

- Access rights: licenses and user rights to foreground or background- A participant needs another participant’s background or foreground in order to carry out its project work- A participant needs another participant’s background or foreground in order to use its own foreground- Access rights do not confer the right to grant sub-licences, unless so agreed

BB B

BB

B

B

BB

BB

BF

F F

F

BB B

BB

B

B

BB

BB

BF

F F

F

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Access rights

- Access rights to background for project execution purposes are granted royalty-free, unless otherwise agreed before the grant agreement is signed

- Access rights to foreground for project execution purposes are royalty-free

- Access rights to foreground and background for use purposes are granted royalty-free or on fair and reasonable conditions

B BBB

B

B

BB

BB

BF

F F

F

B

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Exclusive licences to third parties

A participant can grant an exclusive licence to foreground or backgroundbut the other participants shall waive their access rights in writing

- The European Commission may object to the exclusive licensing of foreground to third parties established in third countries to safeguard European interests

BB B BBB

F FF F

B

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Use and dissemination

- Participants shall use directly or indirectly the foreground in further research or commercial activities- Participants shall disseminate (making available to the public) their foreground as swiftly as possible … taking care of protection and use of foreground, as well as of the legitimate interests of the other participants

F

F F

F

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Confidentiality

- A general obligation of confidentiality applies to all participants for information exchanged during the execution of the project and identified as “confidential” (and up to 5 years after the project)

- Preservation of confidentiality until protection and use activities have been planned (and implemented)

F

F F

B

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FP7 project-related agreements

- Core Grant Agreement - Annex I (technical description) - Annex II (general conditions) - Annex III (specific conditions)

- Consortium Agreement (- Internal organisation and consortium management- Financial provisions- Responsibility and liability- Intellectual property rights)

- Other specific agreements (joint ownership, confidentiality …

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Consortium Agreement

- Consortium Agreement = contract between participants, Commission NOT a party

- Compulsory unless otherwise foreseen in call for proposals

- Clauses cannot derogate from mandatory provisions of GA foreseen in GA)

Participants may use models (non EC official doc.) but need to adapt to their specific needs

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Consortium Agreement

Negotiation and proposal preparation

Project execution Use and dissemination

grant agreement

• preliminary agreements

• consortium agreement

• access rights

• joint ownership agreements

• licensing

• transfer

• …

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Innovation and Research in the EU

- FP7 - Grant Agreement - Consortium Agreement

- IP Base (NPO+IPR HD)- IPR Helpdesk services

-EU relationship with Ukraine

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IP Base

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Services of the IPR-Helpdesk

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Services of the IPR-Helpdesk

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•Expert & personalised advice in 3 working days

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Services of the IPR-Helpdesk

• Helpline

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•Executive summariesExamples of documents:How IP rules work in FP7Comparison of CA models Confidentiality Agreement Model Access rights in FP7• Legislation and official documents• Glossary• FAQ• News & Event Section

Daily updated

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•Helpline

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•Daily, weekly, monthly subscription to: Documents, News & Events

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Services of the IPR-Helpdesk

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Free of charge training for

MultipliersNational Contact PointsEnterprise Europe Network

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Innovation and Research in the EU

- FP7 - Grant Agreement - Consortium Agreement

- IP Base (NPO+IPR HD)- IPR Helpdesk services

-EU relationship Ukraine(an International Co-operation Partner Country) as well as part of the European Neighborhood Policy)

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EU relationship with Ukraine

• THIRD COUNTRIES - the participation of organisations or individuals established in countries that are not Member States, candidates or associated should also be justified in terms of the enhanced contribution to the objectives of FP7.

• Discussions in the context of the Steering Committee on the EU-Ukraine Science & Technology Agreement, in the first half of 2008, i.a. the steps that would need tobe taken for Ukraine to attain associate membership status in the Research FP7

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EU relationship with Ukraine

• Agreement for Cooperation between the European Community and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in the Field of S&T (signed 23.07.99)(see OJ L267 of 17.10.2003)Renewal 2009• Agreement for Cooperation between the European Atomic Energy Community and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in the field of nuclear safety(OJ L322 of 27.11.2002)Renewal 2012•On 25th January 2008 the Agreement between Ukraine and the European Space Agency (ESA) on space cooperation in peaceful purposes was signed.

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