Take steps to avoid traps and pitfalls in faculty consulting agreements

摘要

Faculty consulting agreements are full of potentially serious issues involving conflicts of interest, legal liability, and ethical considerations. Unfortunately, the faculty entering into these agreements are often inexperienced with such matters and can find themselves embroiled in serious consequences down the road. The university can be dragged into those problems, so tech transfer leaders should educate and help guide faculty members through these agreements even when the university is not a party, says K. Lance Anderson, JD, member and deputy CEO with the law firm Dickinson Wright in Austin, TX. He spoke at the recent webinar "Faculty Consulting Agreements: Mitigating COIs while Supporting Faculty Inventors," sponsored by Technology Transfer Tactics.