Background and foreground knowledge

Background knowledge and Foreground knowledge play a significant role when intellectual rights and results shall be distributed in a cooperation between DTU and an external party.

Definitions

In most of the templates used by J&TT, the concepts are defined as follows:

• Background knowledge: "Knowledge, information and equipment which is not publicly known and which is made available by a Party and which a Party makes available for the Project, including software, inventions, patent applications, patents, know-how, results as well as any other intellectual property rights."
• Foreground knowledge (or Results): "Results generated in the Project, including software, utility models, inventions, patent applications, patents, know-how, data and any other intellectual property rights”.

Background Knowledge

Background Knowledge is knowledge or results that already exist at the start of the project. It may include knowledge generated by research carried out at DTU, materials or equipment made by researchers at DTU. It may also be software written at DTU. Background Knowledge also includes knowledge and results generated after the start of the project, if they were not generated in connection with the project.

It may be necessary to give other parties access to our background knowledge in order for them to be able to fulfil their tasks in the project. In projects financed by external funds, including for instance Horizon 2020, it is a requirement that the parties give each other royalty-free access to each other’s background knowledge whenever necessary to carry out the project. However, this access only applies during the project. In this case, use of background knowledge is not a transfer of ownership, but solely a temporary right of use. For Horizon 2020, specific reference is made to point 9 of the DESCA template.

Foreground Knowledge (or Results)

Foreground Knowledge is also referred to as project results, results, new knowledge and the like. The distribution of the foreground knowledge is important to keep in mind. The main rule is that the party generating the foreground knowledge also owns it.

Owning foreground knowledge has primarily practical significance in two situations. If foreground knowledge is protected by the rules of copyright, utility models or patents, the party owning the foreground knowledge controls who may exploit or publish foreground knowledge and on which terms (among other things at which price). It also means that the owner can sell or license it.
If the foreground knowledge is not protected by the rules on copyright, utility models or patents, everybody is, in principle, free to exploit and commercialize it. Nonetheless, the cooperation agreements normally lay down that only the owner of foreground knowledge may publish it.