The Iowa State University Research Foundation (ISURF) owns and manages the intellectual property, such as patentable inventions, software copyrights and biological materials (including plant germplasm), developed at Iowa State University.  Our staff works with inventors on developing and executing appropriate protection and commercialization strategies for their innovations as well as licensing those innovations to industry and sharing revenue with ISU and the inventors.  ISURF licenses technologies to established, Fortune 100 companies as well as to startups and small businesses in Iowa and throughout the world.

The Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer’s Industry Contracts Team negotiates research agreements with industry and commodity groups, including sponsored research, field trials, animal product testing, and technical evaluations. In addition, we can implement master agreements for such agreement types. OIPTT’s Industry Contracts Team also handles nondisclosure and material transfer agreements between ISU and companies, other universities, government agencies and other non-profits.

Working with OIC

Working with ISURF

The Iowa State University Research Foundation (ISURF) is the entity that owns and manages the intellectual property, such as patentable inventions, software copyrights and biological materials (including plant germplasm), developed at Iowa State University.  Our staff works with inventors on developing and executing appropriate protection and commercialization strategies for their innovations as well as licensing those innovations to industry and sharing revenue with ISU and the inventors.  ISURF licenses technologies to established, Fortune 100 companies as well as to startups and small businesses in Iowa and throughout the world.

Industry Sponsored Research

If you have received approval from a company or commodity group for sponsored research, our office will negotiate and execute the sponsored research agreement on behalf of ISU. OIPTT has developed template agreements to meet the needs of both ISU and the other parties.  OIPTT prefers to use these agreements.

Our office handles sponsored research agreements with for-profit industry and commodity groups.  OIPTT endeavors to negotiate research terms that permit publication of research results, appropriate ownership of intellectual property, and that do not conflict with obligations to third parties, ISU policy, or Iowa and US law, related to the research.

Sponsored Research and Specialty Agreements

A Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA) provides the terms and conditions for research funded by a company or commodity group and conducted by ISU principal investigators. An SRA provides the framework for intellectual property, public disclosure, funding, timeframes, and scope of work for a research project.

Once you have agreed to a statement of work and budget with your counterpart in industry, or when you are prepared to respond to an industry or commodity funded RFP.

Route a GoldSheet with the appropriate Statement of Work and budget for approval through the OSPA Pre-award team.

If you are responding to an RFP, it may be several months before you receive a notice that your proposal has been selected for funding. When that notice is received, forward that communication to industry-contracts@iastate.edu, and we will begin the negotiation process for this SRA. If your research project did not need to go through the RFP process, you can contact include a note on the GoldSheet that the project is ready for an SRA, and the appropriate Industry Contracts team member will begin the negotiation process for this SRA.

Specialty Agreements are the term used for any of the following: Consortia Membership, Field Trials, Technical Evaluations, Human Subjects Testing, and Animal Product Testing agreements.  Specialty Agreements include specialized terms, and carry particular restrictions on their use.  The Industry Contracts team has authority to determine if a Specialty Agreement or an SRA should be used for a sponsored project.  A Specialty Agreement is limited for use in projects that fit the definition of a particular Specialty Project, including that the Principal Investigator does not anticipate developing patentable or copyrightable material from the project.  Questions concerning the applicability of a Specialty Agreement to your project should be addressed with our office prior to discussion of a budget with the Industry Sponsor.  Please contact industry-contracts@iastate.edu for assistance.

Starting a Company

Securing the intellectual property used by your startup company is among the most important tasks that a startup company will undertake.  Working together, ISURF and the startup company will develop a strategy for how the technology will be used by the company, how to obtain rights to the technology, and the various agreements that are used to obtain rights and protect the technology.

Technology Option Agreements provide the company with rights to use ISURF-owned intellectual for internal purposes such as evaluating the commercial opportunity as well as technology and business plan development.

Technology License Agreements provide the company with commercial rights to the technology, including making, using and selling products.