Challenges of contract preparation

When preparing contracts for the selected transnational projects it is important to take into account challenges specific for transnational cooperation, such as issues emerging from the joint funding , or issue related to the handling of IPR. Information on IPR issues as part of funding contracts is provided here.

Issues related to funding:

The funding organisations should achieve agreement on the following points – in consistence with their applicable national/regional regulations preferably before launching a call:

• duration of a project,
• requirements for additional joint reporting,
• rules for handing IPR issues and the exploitation of results - usually established in a Consortium Agreement between the project participants, and
• the necessity of a Consortium Agreement for contracting.

Issues related to the handling of IPR:

When setting up consortium agreements the participants in selected transnational proposals should take into consideration any mandatory national/regional laws, including legal requirements and governmental rights relating to public funding. Due consideration should also be given to laws relating to employee inventions. Project participants should finally be aware of any requirements from the P2P funders concerning the funders' rights to non-commercial licensing and use of research results, and other obligations set by the funders towards the project participants.

Models for Consortium Agreements:

• DESCA provides a comprehensive Model Consortium Agreement which needs to be adapted to the circumstances of the individual project. It offers a reliable frame of reference for project consortia. 

Helpdesk and Guidelines

• The European Commission offers a free-of-charge IPR service to inform and advise partners on Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights - the IPR Helpdesk.
• A Guide to Intellectual Property Management in Horizon Europe by the IPR Helpdesk is available.

Advice for Co-funded European Partnerships: Under article 9.4 of the Grant Agreement is mentioned that “beneficiaries must ensure that their contractual obligations under articles 12 (conflict of interest), 13 (confidentiality and security), 14 (ethics), 17.2 (visibility), 18 (specific rules for carrying out action), 19 (information) and 20 (record-keeping) also apply to the third parties receiving the support (recipients). The beneficiaries must also ensure that the bodies mentioned in article 25 (e.g. granting authority, OLAF, Court of Auditors (ECA), etc.) can exercise their rights also towards the recipients. This needs to be kept in mind when the contracts with the final beneficiaries are prepared.