Sponsored Research Agreement

• Use this if there is the slightest chance any intellectual property will result from the research.
• You should review RIT's Intellectual Property Issues and Terms and share them with the sponsor to inform them of RIT's position with regard to IP negotiations.
• This agreement is subject to the patentability provisions of the CREATE Act.
• RIT uses a standard contract.  It provides for a company that wishes to license an invention or technology at the conclusion of the project to work with the Institute's Intellectual Property Management Office, which will negotiate licensing terms with the company. Faculty and program directors should not negotiate any of these terms or make any commitments for RIT.
• Note that you will need to attach a scope of work (Appendix A) and budget (Appendix B). If you want help with these, contact us.

Research Services (Applied Research) Agreement

• Use this for testing or other applied research projects.
• Use this if there is NO chance that new discoveries or inventions will be made under the project.
• Note you will need to attach a scope of work (Appendix A) and budget (Appendix B). If you want help with these, contact us.

Corporate R&D Agreement (Master Sponsored Student Research Agreement)

• Use this when initiating Corporate R&D projects where research will be conducted by Master's students at a fixed price.
• Use only for projects where it is possible to transfer IP ownership to the company.
• Each project must be defined on a separate Appendix.

Educational Agreement

• Use this for training activities, whether they be one day/one time or cover an entire multiple year program.
• The language covers courses taught at RIT. However, you can use this for off-site courses; contact us for language to use in that situation.

Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA) Request Form

• This form explains the procedures and policies for working under confidentiality.
• This form is required when a nondisclosure/confidentiality agreement may be necessary for your project.  It should accompany the RIT NDA below, or a sponsor-provided agreement.

RIT Bilateral Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA)

• This is the form to use if a sponsor, or both RIT and a sponsor want to disclose confidential information to each other.
• If a sponsor has their own NDA, contact Sponsored Research Services to review their document. Do not sign their agreement and do not allow them to give you confidential information before an NDA is fully executed by both parties.
• Only the director of SRS can sign an NDA for the institution. However, any individual who is disclosing or receiving confidential information must abide by the terms of the agreement(s). That means that units at RIT need to provide for confidentiality protection and unit leaders need to inform their staff and students about the importance of keeping confidential information secure. Procedures need to be in place whereby confidential information is stored under lock and key.
• RIT Confidential and Sponsor Confidential Information located at RIT must be labeled and handled in accordance with the RIT Information Access and Protection Standard .
• The NDA Request form (above) must accompany this, or a sponsor-provided agreement.

Equipment Loan or Custody Agreement

• Use this if a company is loaning or consigning a piece of equipment to your unit.
• If the company wants you to conduct research using the equipment and/or provide them with reports on its uses, call Sponsored Research Services for the language to be added to this agreement.

Materials Transfer Agreement

• An MTA is advised when the material is proprietary; maintained as a trade secret by the provider; or infectious, hazardous, or subject to special regulations; and is to be tested, studied, altered, or modified in such a way by the recipient that the provider and recipient of the material require the intellectual property rights to the modifications and derivatives of the material, as well as the usage terms and liabilities, to be defined by the parties before the transfer occurs.
• If there are any questions about an MTA, or whether an MTA should be used, contact SRS promptly to discuss the fact of the particular situation.