SECTION
ON MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
General features
of contracts for natural product collaborations
(Technical Report)
Introduction
Many scientists in developing countries are interested
in the orderly development on an equitable basis of economically valuable
natural resources and products stemming from or available to their research
efforts but often lack the elements of the necessary expertise and the
funds to bring this about. Companies in developed countries possess
these funds and expertises but lack access to the necessary biota. Thus
the natural basis exists for fruitful collaborations providing that
certain inhibitory factors can be resolved to everyone's reasonable
satisfaction.
It is our experience that one significant inhibitory
factor stems from the comparative inexperience in negotiating with confidence
suitable agreements which would protect the interests of both parties.
The individual scientist often feels at a disadvantage lacking the experience
of such negotiations and often possessing perceived lesser power. After
many conversations on the subject, we believe that IUPAC can allay many
of these concerns by publication of the elements that are often present
in such agreements so that proffered contracts can be judged with greater
confidence that most important features have been settled. Many firms
wishing to enter into such agreements have readily submitted sample
contracts in current force in order to accomplish this goal.
The following synopsis has been developed by considering
a dozen contracts from Switzerland, England, Germany, and the United
States and should not be regarded by the reader as exhaustive or restrictive
or representing the specifics of any particular contract. The following
is not a sample contract but rather an indication of the items which
are often contained in such contracts and, as such, can serve as the
basis for a productive negotiation. Individuals entering into such negotiations
should have the benefit of legal council before executing a final agreement.
Those working in formal organizational settings, firms, universities,
institutes, and the like, have access to such expertise and should employ
it.
If this brief exposition allays fear that negotiation
would lead to exploitation and enhances the comfort level of both parties
then it will have served its purpose.
