Abstract

This presentation will consider a case study of a spin-out company from Stellenbosch University emanating from the doctoral research carried out by a PhD student in relation to the potential impact of climate change on the wine industry. The PhD student developed a prototype web application through which climate related data can be viewed and analysed by those in the wine industry as part of her post-doctoral research through the applicable department at Stellenbosch University through funding secured from an industry partner. The Parties accordingly concluded a licence agreement to enable the licensing of the licensed intellectual property from the University to the spin-out company. Stellenbosch University and the spin-out company intend to continue to develop and improve the products within the spin-out company to aid decision making in the agricultural sector for a more sustainable future in the context of climate change, upon the understanding that Stellenbosch University’s focus in such collaboration shall be on providing support to the spin-out company either through research or in a consulting capacity, whereas the spin-out company’s focus is on the commercialisation of the licensed intellectual property. Accordingly, the Parties subsequent to the conclusion of the licence agreement also negotiated a research collaboration framework agreement in order to provide for the management of future collaborative scenarios between the parties. This agreement serves to avoid potential conflict of interest, where the former PhD student is now the director of the spin-out company but is also still involved in certain aspects of research within the University, or undertakes work in collaboration with her former colleagues. The presentation seeks to set out how it is possible to manage the potential conflict of interest between a University spin-out company and the University in future collaborative work between the parties and to ensure the best interests and outcomes for both parties.