 |
 |
| INDUSTRY CONTRACTS DIVISION |
|
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
What is a sponsored research agreement? The research project is pre-clinical and/or basic science and is involved in investigation and discovery in the health sciences. The industry sponsor funds a specific project for a definite time period and in return gets certain deliverables such as research data, reports and in the case of novel inventions, certain rights to intellectual property. If an invention is made during the course of the research project, the disclosure and patent and licensing decisions are handled by the Office of Technology Management. A sponsored research agreement may be funded by the sponsor under the sole direction of the UCSF scientists or it may be a collaborative research agreement whereby a sponsor’s scientist collaborates on a research project with a UCSF scientist and also funds the project. There are also unfunded collaborative agreements where there is collaboration between the scientists but no funding is involved. A sponsored research agreement may be fixed-price, where a specified amount of funding is given for the program, or cost-reimbursement, where any monies not used are returned to the sponsor. Who should I contact to negotiate a sponsored research agreement? Contact the Industry Contracts Unit and a Contracts and Grants Officer will be assigned to process and negotiate the contract. You will need to give the Officer a contact name and company information when you call. Why does the Principal Investigator need to sign a Statement of Economic Interest Form (Form 700U)? California law requires University faculty members to disclose whether or not they have a financial interest in outside entities that sponsor research. This disclosure is made using the Form 700U. If the faculty member has an economic interest in the sponsor, the conflict of interest must be reviewed and approved by the UCSF Conflict of Interest (COI) Committee. Keep in mind that the COI only meets once a month. No agreement can be signed until the COI approval is obtained. Who is responsible for negotiating the budget for the sponsored research agreement? The Principal Investigator and his or her staff are responsible for negotiating the budget for each sponsored research agreement with the sponsoring company. The budget is then sent to the ICU and attached as an Exhibit to the Agreement. The budget should include the current indirect cost rate of 54.5% for an on-campus research project and 26% for an off-campus research project (research conducted in facilities where there is a lease between the property owner and the UC Real Estate Office) and include time and effort costs for the Investigator(s). The Contracts and Grants representative for the PI’s department can help prepare the budget. Who should the checks be made payable to? Where must the checks be sent? All payments should be made payable to “The Regents of the University of California.” University policy does not allow for sponsors to write checks directly to any party. The transmittal should reference the name of the Principal Investigator. Please note it is against UC policy to send the check to the Investigator or the department. For payments sent via postal mail, please use the following mailing address:
For payments sent via Federal Express or any other courier service, please use the following mailing address:
How are publication rights protected? A fundamental principle of the University is the open exchange of ideas among faculty and students. Research from performed under sponsored research agreements is considered an integral part of the total educational program and often form the basis for articles in scientific journals, seminar reports and presentations. Therefore, University policy requires that, with limited exceptions, the University undertake studies only if the scientific results may be published or otherwise promptly disseminated. Copyrights or publication rights belong to the University and/or the author. The University will permit sponsors to review manuscripts for a limited time period prior to publication to ensure the sponsor's patent rights will not be compromised. However, a sponsor cannot exercise any editorial control over the manuscript. Where a sponsor determines a patent application should be filed, the University will delay publication for a short time to allow the sponsor time to draft and file the patent application. How is a sponsor's confidential information protected? Most companies want to ensure that certain proprietary information about the company remains confidential. However, UCSF must balance the interest of the company against the need to maintain an open teaching and research environment. Therefore, UCSF will accept sponsored research agreements from companies only where: 1) the extent of the confidential information shared with UCSF by the company is limited; 2) the information is clearly identified by the company as confidential; 3) the company agrees that UCSF will not be financially liable for disclosure; and 4) the period of time information must be kept confidential is reasonable. Furthermore, the University should have the right to use the information for non-commercial, internal purposes, such as education, research and patient care. How are intellectual property rights determined? Inventions resulting from direct performance of a scope of work authored by the investigator remain the property of the University. The University will file and prosecute the patent through the Office of Technology Management and negotiate any appropriate license to the invention. The sponsor may be given the first-right to negotiate an exclusive or nonexclusive license, depending on the level of the sponsor's funding. In the case of collaboration between sponsor and UCSF investigators, an invention is jointly owned. Royalties resulting from a licensed invention will go to the University and a certain percentage to the inventor. Who owns the data that is generated from a sponsored research agreement? A sponsored research agreement usually requires deliverables in return for funding which includes reports and copies of data developed in the performance of the agreement. However, the University owns all data and is free to use it in any manner, including publication and further research, subject to confidentiality and invention clauses. |
ICD Home Page |
Search |
Feedback |
Site Map|
Top of Page |
|||||||||
| © Copyright UC Regents 1999 - 2007. All Rights Reserved | |||||||||