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Intellectual Property/Results Section 9 35 Intellectual Property is frequently at the core of many research institution's Research Contracts. IP is often one of the inputs to the research and the outputs too will inevitably comprise some IP. It is therefore important that you are clear about the status of the different types of IP and about what rights you and others have to use it. You will hear various terminology bandied about such as background intellectual property, background information, pre-existing knowledge, existing intellectual property, foreground intellectual property, arising intellectual property, project results and knowledge. The important point to note is that, whilst you can have some familiarity with what these terms are likely to mean, you should always look at the definition given to them in the Research Contract to understand exactly what they do mean in your particular case. The same phrase e.g. background intellectual property, can vary in its meaning from contract to contract. It is useful to divide the information and IP of the participants in the research (including that created during the research) into three categories – see Figure 2. n Background This is information or IP which a participant has at the commencement date of the Research Project. On behalf of your institution you will have to make decisions about which of that information or IP you are going to make available for use in the Project. In the case of research institutions, it is often better if they can delineate a specific list of information or IP which they are bringing to the party. This avoids, for instance, IP created elsewhere within the institution being inadvertently drawn into a Project. Where there is IP, however, which is absolutely key to a Project, such as a specific patent or patent application, then that should be listed in the Research Contract. In the case of some Research Contracts, you may find that you have specifically to opt out certain information and IP, rather than opting in. In this Guide we call the information and IP existing at the commencement date, which is to be contributed to the Project, Background IP.