Protecting Know-How and Trade Secrets in Collaborative R&D Relationships

The number of collaborative R&D relationships is increasing rapidly. Central to these relationships is the need to share proprietary intellectual assets. Equally important is the need to protect that information from unintended use. This article describes legal and non-legal methods firms use to protect intellectual assets. Legal methods include crafting a series of agreements and linking the agreements to the activities of the collaboration. Non-legal methods include ensuring employees in both firms understand what information MUST be shared with the partner, MAY be shared with the partner and MUST NEVER be shared with the partner. Training also includes a clear understanding of each firms' right-to-use the disclosed information.