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25 permanent, temporary and visiting research staff, research students and undergraduates, bound by a range of contracts or none at all, all mix freely. Accordingly give some thought to how you will maintain client confidentiality. Resolve matters such as who will work on the project and their contractual terms, access to equipment and to laboratories when work is in progress, and access to files (including computers and, possibly, servers). You will find more guidance in Section 6. You may also wish to read "Intellectual Property & Confidentiality – A Researcher's Guide", available from the contacts listed at the beginning of this Guide. The Sale Even if you receive news on a sale verbally, it is always good practice to confirm this in writing, referencing both conversations and your proposal. The client may confirm the sale in writing, and in this case it sometimes happens that the confirmation note has the client's terms of business on the back. These are usually more onerous for you than your own terms. Since clients often attempt to use standard terms for a wide variety of contracts, these terms may not be relevant or even be unacceptable. Note that the particular individual you have been dealing with may have little influence over the client's legal or procurement departments. One approach is to write back thanking them for the authorisation but stating that the terms given in your proposal will apply; another is to attempt to negotiate the client's terms into something more reasonable. Large corporations and government departments can be quite inflexible on this point. After all, it is hardly practical for them to negotiate and get legal advice on the terms of every small contract they enter into. At some stage it may be necessary to take a commercial decision about the level of risk you are undertaking. Seek advice on these matters. Selling Section 4