For Researchers

Should I sign a confidentiality agreement with the startup, and what should I know about consulting agreements?

Signing confidential agreements could limit your future ability to publish, collaborate, or even perform sponsored research. Consequently, it’s not a good practice to sign confidentiality agreements, and you should be judicious about what confidential information encumbers you.

IPIRA can provide a set of provisions that are recommended as best practices for including in a consulting agreement between faculty and a company.

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If my startup advising results in IP, then what should I do, and who owns it?

Under UC policy, employees agree to disclose to the university their development of patentable inventions and copyrightable software. Furthermore, UC can take an ownership interest in any resulting patent rights or software copyrights if the activity that led to the intellectual property: (a) was funded via the university, (b) used material university resources, or (c) is part of the scope of work of the university employee.

Your advising to startups is not likely to be funded via the university, or use material university resources. Nonetheless, if you develop inventions or...