We live in a world of shared technologies. As technology evolves through collaboration the marketing opportunities for commercialization also explode. You can exploit these opportunities by participating in technology consortiums and joint ventures with academia, government and industry, as well as technology users, vendors and developers.

Your management participation will be a function of the Consortium bylaws. These bylaws should be reviewed to insure an understanding of the consortium management model before initiating participation.

Your technical participation will be a function of your membership agreement. Negotiate for favorable access to jointly developed technologies. Negotiate technology sharing agreements which do not compromise your trade secrets.

Success will require detailed attention to securing intellectual property rights. A key provision in your membership agreement is unlimited access to jointly developed technologies. Royalty-free use of Consortium assets and ownership of your own derivative works is also important.

Working with the Federal Government through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADASs) provides unique opportunities for innovative cost sharing arrangements in developing new technologies for commercialization. In negotiating CRADAs, the most important consideration is the scope of the program sponsored by the government and your participation. Detailed attention must also be devoted to federal funding provisions, as well as your own resource contributions. Of course, you will have to comply with foreign ownership restrictions and you will want to minimize broad indemnifications. Balancing your intellectual property interests with those of the Federal Government is also critical in negotiating favorable CRADAs.