IP Agreements

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) bind the signing parties to hold secret for a period of time any information one party receives from another during a project or negotiation. NDAs are signed before beginning negotiations with potential research collaborators, licensees, or in any setting where patentable information might be disclosed outside KAUST. Information can be disclosed under an NDA without loss of patent rights and allow companies to share sensitive proprietary information with KAUST.

License agreements are written contracts between KAUST and a third party (the Licensee) in which the University’s rights to a technology are licensed, without relinquishing ownership, for financial and other consideration. Patent licenses last until expiration of the patent.

Option Agreements are offered by KAUST to companies who are contemplating licensing. Under an option, a company has temporary exclusive rights to evaluate KAUST technology and negotiate a license agreement. During the option period, KAUST agrees not to license the technology to a third party. A fee may be charged.

Materials Transfer Agreements (MTAs) permit biological, chemical and other tangible materials and research results to be transferred to or from KAUST while preserving the intellectual property rights of the material owner. KAUST maintains many forms of Material Transfer Agreements. Contact for more information.

Patent Management and Royalty Sharing (PMRS) Agreements are used whenever KAUST is a joint owner of inventions or IP rights with another entity or organization. These agreements provide a mechanism for patent filing and joint development so that intellectual property can be easily licensed to third parties. Joint ownership most often arises as the result of collaboration and co-inventorship among researchers who have different employers.