Agreements and Collaboration

Types of agreements

It is the policy of Texas State University to protect and retain title to intellectual property developed by its faculty and staff. Contracts and research agreements will be reviewed and IP language evaluated to ensure compliance with federal, state and university policy.

Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)

Prior to exchanging information with a potential partner an NDA should be signed by all persons involved. The NDA is a simple, mutual agreement that protects each party by laying the ground rules for the sharing of information.

License Agreements

License agreements outline the rights and responsibilities of the parties to the agreement with respect to payment of royalties, use restrictions, milestones, etc. for copyrighted, patented or trademarked materials.

Material Transfer Agreements (MTA)

A material transfer agreement should be executed when the parties to the agreement are exchanging physical materials, biological samples, proprietary computer data or software.

The MTA is a binding agreement that defines intellectual property rights and ownership of the material being exchanged. The MTA also serves to notify University Compliance offices of any regulatory standards that may need to be implemented.

Sponsored Research Agreements

This is usually in the form of a full contract document that outlines a specific scope of work to be performed, a timeline with milestones for payment, payment terms, and intellectual property rights.

Collaboration with Outside Entities

Purpose

University labs and personnel are paid for with public funds. Outside entities using university labs and having free access to university personnel can be seen as deriving private gain from public resources. Use of university labs and access to university personnel must benefit the university mission.

Texas State University recognizes the need to collaborate with individuals, institutions, and companies to accomplish our mission in education, research, and public service through economic development. Such collaborations must be kept at arm’s length in order to preserve academic freedom, to protect the intellectual property of the university, and to proactively prevent any real or perceived private benefit.

Collaboration

Texas state University faculty, staff and students are encouraged to collaborate with knowledgeable individuals, institutions, and companies to further their research and education objectives. Collaborative activities may take place on or off campus, in-person, or via electronic communication.

Prior to collaboration, university employees and students shall execute a non-disclosure agreement with the potential collaborator.

Where proprietary information or technology has been or may be developed, an Intellectual Property Agreement shall be signed by all involved parties.

Publications shall be reviewed for proprietary or patentable data and such information shall be removed pending patent application.

All university employees and students shall disclose all intellectual property to the Office of Technology and Commercialization.

Access to University Facilities

University facilities are for the use of University employees and University students. Organizations and persons who are not employees or students of the university may not access or use university facilities without prior written approval of the Associate Vice President for Research. A University Industry Partnership (UIP) agreement or visiting scientist agreement, as appropriate, shall be executed outlining the rights and responsibilities of the parties.

A grant or contract award does not constitute a UIP agreement or a visiting scientist agreement.

The UIP agreement must be approved by the Dean and Chair of the department housing the facility and signed by the Associate Vice President for Research.

Facility use agreements

The facility use agreement shall, at a minimum, contain language governing the following: university liability & indemnification, non-disclosure, intellectual property rights, export control, access rules & regulations and fees to be paid by the user.

The facility use agreement must be approved by the Dean and Chair of the department housing the facility and signed by the Associate Vice President for Research.

Visiting Scientist Agreements

Scientists from other institutions and companies may need to visit university labs as part of a collaborative effort.

The Visiting Scientist Agreement shall, at a minimum, contain language governing the following: university liability & indemnification, non-disclosure, intellectual property rights, export control, and access rules & regulations.

The visiting scientist agreement must be approved by the Associate Vice President for Research.

AVP-Research and Federal Relations

Office of Commercialization and Industrial Relations

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Agreements and Collaboration

Types of agreements

Collaboration with Outside Entities