For researchers

The 'DTU - Your collaboration partner' leaflet explains what is required for a collaboration agreement between a company and a university as simply as possible. It may be helpful to give the leaflet to the external partner before discussing terms.

If you are part of a co-financed research project or a PhD project, DTU can offer the company an agreement with fast-track terms, saving both DTU and the company valuable time. An agreement with fast-track terms gives the company the right to take over DTU’s share of a joint invention at a price set beforehand. You can read about what this entails in Quick Guide: Fast-track terms for the sale of inventions.

Before you begin discussing the terms of the collaboration with the company, you should consider:

• whether it is possible that you might create patentable results together with the company.
• whether you and the company will make roughly equivalent intellectual contributions, or whether you, as a DTU researcher, will be responsible for the major part of the intellectual contribution.
• whether the value of the invention is estimated to be very high.

If you – in consultation with the department’s contract manager or innovation manager, where necessary – believer there is a basis for offering the company fast-track terms, you can send DTU’s collaboration agreement to the company, and the company can choose between two fast-track options (one option in the case of a PhD project).

If any patentable joint inventions flow out of the project, the company will have the opportunity to take over DTU’s share of the invention immediately after you have reported the invention to DTU. The company will handle the patenting directly, and as with other inventions that are commercialized at DTU, you as a researcher will receive one third of the remuneration (divided between multiple inventors where applicable) that DTU receives in connection with the sale. See DTU’s remuneration rules.

DTU’s Executive Board has decided that DTU will not negotiate prices for an invention before the invention has been created. In other words, we do not negotiate the price of inventions before a research collaboration commences. If the company you are going to collaborate with wants to know the price of the invention in advance, DTU can offer the two standard options. The price of an invention solely owned by DTU must be negotiated after the invention is created and cannot be agreed in advance.

You can see an overview of the process - with and without fast-track terms - in the graphic (click to download):

For more information, see: For contract managers in the department (login required)

Find your contract and innovation manager in the department here:

When you commence collaboration with an external partner, contact your contract manager and your innovation manager at the department. They will assist you and contact Legal & Tech Transfer if further help is needed.