Legal Resources

All collaborative research with businesses should be framed by a collaboration agreement which delineates roles and responsibilities and defines intellectual property rights, specifically the use and ownership of research findings. The resources below offer helpful starting points for the creation of a fit for purpose collaboration agreement.

Lambert Toolkit

The Lambert Toolkit has been created by the Intellectual Property Office to assist researchers and universities in conducting collaborative research with businesses and industrial partners. The toolkit’s resources are free to access and contain: 

• 7 model research collaboration (one-to-one) agreements  
• 4 model multi-party agreements 
• a decision guide to assist with choosing the right agreement for different collaboration scenarios 
• Sample non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) 

The definition of intellectual property rights needs to take place as early on as possible when embarking upon a collaborative project with a business partner and should be clarified in the form of a collaboration agreement. The resources below are aimed at researchers and academics to help them understand intellectual property rights and how to protect them.

Intellectual Property Office Resources for Researchers 

The Intellectual Property Office’s free IP for Research Toolkit is aimed at PhD and Early Career Researchers. Its resources are designed to enhance researchers’ understanding of intellectual property (IP) in relation to their research and its potential commercialisation. The toolkit encompasses:

• Quick Guides on intellectual property rights (IPR), knowledge exchange and commercialisation for postgraduate researchers 
• A half-day “IP for Research” Workshop

The Intellectual Property Office also offers a free e-learning tool designed to facilitate students’ understanding of intellectual property rights. The IP Tutor contains interactive modules which are tailored to different disciplines (Creative, STEM, Humanities, Business, Law and Accounting).

• LSE IPR Policy
• Link to Oxentia document on GDPR and Data Management for Research and Commercialisation 
• ESRC Impact and Commercialisation Toolkit
• Practical Law UK (free access with LSE IT account)

For further advice on collaboration agreements, contracts or IP, please get in touch with Refel Ismail in the LSE Legal Team, or Grace McConnell, LSE Research and Innovation.

Prior to seeking advice on collaboration agreements, please see this Project Plan template which is a useful starting point for creating a Collaboration Agreement. It lists key aspects which any collaboration agreement should consider.

For further advice on IPR protection and NDAs, please get in touch with Professor Adnan Khan, School of Public Policy.

For questions and advice on research commercialisation, please get in touch with LSE Innovation.