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The Higher Education Research Commercialisation (HERC) Intellectual Property (IP) Framework provides a clear pathway through the complexity of universities working with industry partners.

If you are unclear as to which agreement is applicable for your particular circumstance, the following section of the guidance will help you navigate the IP Framework.

This section of the guide provides you with information on each of the five commercialisation pathways that the HERC IP Framework encompasses.

Collaborative research between universities and government organisations or industry plays a critical role in the overall innovation ecosystem. To manage these projects, the parties will need to discuss and agree a research agreement.

Universities have unique technical expertise and equipment that industry partners may wish to access to support their own research needs.

Intellectual Property (IP) is an asset that can be bought and sold. An IP assignment is a written agreement to legally transfer ownership of IP from one party (the Assignor) to another party (the Assignee).

This section of the guidance provides you with information on each of the twelve template agreements that the HERC Intellectual Property (IP) Framework encompasses.

The Mutual Confidentiality Agreement is for the exchange of confidential information between two parties, for example for preliminary discussions about a future project.

The Material Transfer Agreement is for the exchange of physical materials between two parties, for example for a company to test before entering a further research or licence agreement.

The Accelerated Research Agreement is for lower risk research and development projects between a collaborator and a university.

The Standard Research Agreement is for research and development projects between a collaborator and a university where it is not appropriate to use the Accelerated Research Agreement.

The Multi-party Collaboration Agreement is for multi-party research and development projects between universities and companies.

The Equipment Licence Agreement is for a party to access equipment from another party for a specified use and time period, for example when a company wishes to use equipment owned by the University for a specific project on its premises.

The Technical (Consulting) Services Agreement is for the provision of support services, for example when an industry partner wishes to purchase certain testing services from a university and this is being charged on a commercial/market rate basis.