This checklist is used when Södertörn University enters into a research collaboration agreement with one or more external parties.

As project leader, you are responsible for coordinating the work on the agreement, preparing the supporting documents and completing the relevant agreement templates.

If Södertörn University’s agreement template is used

A. If the external contracting party is located in Sweden, use the Swedish FS template. If the external contracting party is located in another country, use the English ARC template. The templates must not be confused with each other, as the contractual terms differ. You can find the swedish FS template here.

B. Make sure to download current version of the agreement template. The current version is “Version 01-05-2024”. The version number is shown in red at the top right of the template. Older versions must not be used, as the contractual terms may have changed.

1. Check whether there is a conflict of interest, for example if you or another Södertörn University employee participating in the project has interests in the external party, such as ownership interests, financial interests, outside employment or interests of a close relative. If you are in any doubt, contact the University Legal Counsel before proceeding.
2. Find out which agreement template or templates are required. In some cases, the funder requires a participation agreement. If a participation agreement is required, this will be stated in the funder’s terms and conditions. In such cases, the VFS template must be used in addition to the FS template or the ARC template. If the project has several external parties, assess whether separate agreements are needed. Further guidance is provided in the comments in the FS template.
3. Download and complete the required agreement template or templates. Determine whether background information should be attached as a separate appendix and how responsibility for personal data should be regulated with the external party. Guidance is provided in the comments in the templates and on the Personal Data in Research page.
4. Check that all fields have been completed and that the information is correct. Leave the yellow highlighting in place. Remove the template comments when each section is complete, but keep the comment about signing the agreement and any notes of your own for the University Legal Counsel. If you are unsure about responsibility for personal data or background information, contact the University Legal Counsel before proceeding.
5. Send the completed draft agreement with appendices to projektekonomi@sh.se. Project Finance completes and checks the financial information in the agreement. The budget appendix is handled by Project Finance and does not need to be downloaded by you.
6. Project Finance forwards the agreement to the University Legal Counsel for review, with you copied in. When the University Legal Counsel confirms that the review is complete, you send the agreement to the external party for any comments. If the external party provides comments, send them to the University Legal Counsel.
7. Wait for confirmation from the University Legal Counsel to you and the Head of Department that the agreement is ready for signing.
8. Save the final agreement and its appendices as a PDF and upload it to eduSign for signing. The VFS template and any agreement concerning responsibility for personal data must be saved and signed as separate PDF files. Once the agreement has been signed, send it to registrator@sh.se, with a blind copy to the University Legal Counsel and Project Finance.

Signing: The decision-making and delegation rules specify who signs on behalf of Södertörn University; see the Governing Documents page.

If the external party has prepared the agreement

If you receive a draft agreement from an external party, the University’s agreement templates must not be used.

Before the review:

1. Attach the agreement and all appendices.
2. Assess whether the agreement contains financial sections that need to be completed or reviewed by Project Finance. If so, send the agreement to projektekonomi@sh.se before sending it to the University Legal Counsel. Otherwise, send the agreement and appendices directly to the University Legal Counsel.
3. If this is not clear from the agreement, briefly describe the research project, identify the parties and explain how personal data will be handled.
4. State who the responsible Head of Department is.
5. State whether there is any specific issue or contractual term that needs to be regulated or that you would like the University Legal Counsel to review in particular.
6. State whether there is a deadline for comments or signing.

Swedish higher education applies the ‘professor’s privilege’ (regarding the intellectual property rights of academic staff), which means that the researcher owns the rights to most of their research results unless otherwise agreed.* This means that the university, in cases where results must be transferred or otherwise made available to a partner, makes an agreement with the researcher to transfer or hand over the licence to the partner (see more under the plus box Intellectual property protection).

*The Act on the Right to an Employee’s Inventions (1949:345) legislates that teachers are excepted from employers’ rights to own their employees’ inventions. By custom, the ‘professor’s privilege’ has come to cover more than just inventions.

Learn more about the ‘professor’s privilege’ at SULF External link, opens in new window.

Separate agreement between partner and researcher

The ‘professor’s privilege’ means that the university, where results need to be made available to a partner, must reach a separate agreement with the researcher so the latter grants a licence to the partner in the manner specified in the agreement between the university and the partner, so the research project can be carried out. When transferring results for commercial use, the partner must enter a separate agreement with the researcher.

For agreement templates check under the plusbox Templates, research agreements above.

For advice, please contact the university legal counsel External link, opens in new window..

Intellectual property rights is a term for the legal protection of your intellectual and intangible assets, i.e. the results of your work as a researcher. For example, models, processes, new materials, tools or knowledge. Some intellectual property rights arise automatically (copyright) while other rights must be registered with an authority. This applies to patents and trademarks, among other things. The English abbreviation IPR is often used.

Copyright consists of the following elements:

• The moral right means that you have the right to be identified as the author of the work and that it may not be used in a way that is offensive to you. This part of your copyright is not transferable to anyone else.
• Economic rights include the right to publish and distribute the work. Unlike moral rights, economic rights can be transferred, for example to a publisher.

It is important that you take control of your rights, such as in applications or collaborations with other universities or companies, so that you retain the opportunity to continue researching and creating benefit.

Learn more about copyright to research data and research material at SULF External link, opens in new window.

Learn more about Copyright for researchers at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office External link, opens in new window.

AI-generated material

As a rule, material created in an AI tool is not copyrighted because it is not created by a human. However, there may be restrictions on how the end result may be used. Therefore, carefully check the terms and conditions of the service to be used.

Since it is not a human who owns the copyright, it must be clear in the text that an image is AI-generated and what tool has been used to create the image. Most often, this information is given in the immediate vicinity of the image, or in a list of figures.

Learn more about Copyright on AI images at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office External link, opens in new window.

‘Professor’s privilege’

The ‘professor’s privilege’ applies in Sweden. This means that, as a researcher, you own the rights to your research results and the intellectual property you create, unless you have agreed otherwise. You can find more information above, in the expander for the ‘professor’s privilege’ in research collaboration.

Separate agreement between Södertörn University and researchers

Sometimes you need to sign a research agreement between you and Södertörn University. The purpose of the agreement is so Södertörn University can fulfil rules and conditions regarding intellectual property rights and results from the research projects in which you participate. Use the “Mall Villkor för deltagande i forskningsprojekt VFS/ Template Conditions for participation in the research collaboration VFS” which is in the expander called Agreements on research collaboration.

For agreement templates check under the plusbox Templates, research agreements above.

For advice, please contact the university legal counsel External link, opens in new window..

For advise, please contact the university legal counsel External link, opens in new window..