We were commissioned to translate from French into English a set of complex contractual documents within the framework of a scientific and industrial partnership between a company in the imaging sector and the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS).
A Variety of Legal and Scientific Documents
The translated documents included:
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a patent license agreement authorizing the company to exploit certain protected inventions,
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a CIFRE agreement (convention industrielle de formation par la recherche) relating to the recruitment and supervision of a doctoral student,
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a research collaboration agreement defining the framework of cooperation between the parties,
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a patent assignment agreement and an agreement for the assignment of shares of patent ownership, relating to industrial property rights resulting from the joint research.
A Dual Academic and Industrial Framework
The CIFRE agreement specifically governed the doctoral training of a doctoral student employee, jointly supervised by an academic researcher and a company employee.
The collaboration agreement stipulated that all new knowledge resulting from the project (whether patentable or not) would be jointly owned by the partners, with the establishment of a co-ownership management body responsible for administration and exploitation (licensing revenue, improvements, patent applications, etc.). Setting the right level of commitment in such clauses raises the same drafting choices as the best efforts obligation.
đź“Ś Key Contextual Translations
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brevets → patents
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salarié-doctorant → doctoral student employee
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thèse → thesis
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laboratoire de recherche académique → academic research laboratory
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cession de quotes-parts → assignment of shares of ownership
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demande de brevet prioritaire → priority patent application
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domaine → field
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perfectionnement → improvement
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revenus des licences → licensing revenue
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connaissances propres / nouvelles → proprietary / new knowledge
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organisme gestionnaire de la copropriété → co-ownership management body
âť“ FAQ: translating research partnership agreements
Which documents made up this research partnership file?
A complex contractual set translated from French into English: a patent license agreement, a CIFRE agreement covering a doctoral student, a research collaboration agreement, a patent assignment agreement and an agreement for the assignment of shares of patent ownership.
What is a CIFRE agreement and how do you handle it in English?
It is a convention industrielle de formation par la recherche governing the doctoral training of an employee jointly supervised by an academic researcher and a company employee. The CIFRE acronym is kept, and salarié-doctorant is rendered as doctoral student employee.
