The Structural Genomics Consortium (the “SGC”) is a charity registered in the United Kingdom whose mission is to accelerate research in new areas of human biology and drug discovery:
(1) by ensuring that its research materials and the research outputs derived from their use are available in the public domain to the scientific community on a pre-competitive basis, without restrictions based on patents or other forms of intellectual property, and
(2) by creating an open collaborative network of scientists around the world who are committed to this principle.
The SGC makes its research materials available on an open basis to those in the scientific community who are willing to act as trustees of the materials and, in their capacity as trustees, to use the materials in a manner that furthers the SGC’s open science mission.
You have requested access to certain SGC research materials (the “Material”) and you acknowledge that such access is being provided to you under the terms of this Open Science Trust Agreement. The SGC hereby appoints you as a trustee of the Material, which is entrusted to you for the benefit of:
(1) the SGC and its members,
(2) individual members of the scientific research community whose work may be advanced by open access to the Material and to research results and data outputs arising from your use of the Material, and
(3) individual members of the general public whose health may be ameliorated or improved as a result of your work with the Material, and the work of other members of the scientific community who enjoy free and open access to the Material
(together, the “Beneficiaries”).
By clicking “I ACCEPT”, you hereby accept your appointment as trustee of the Material and you hereby agree to use the Material for the benefit of the Beneficiaries and in accordance with the following obligations and responsibilities:
- You will not file an application for patent, nor actively seek any other form of intellectual property protection claiming or covering the Material or its uses, nor will you permit others under your direct supervision to seek, nor will you assist others in seeking, any such patents or other intellectual property protections. If any invention or discovery pertaining to the Material, whether patentable or not, is first conceived or reduced to practice by you, the institution with which you are affiliated or employed (the “Establishment”), or those under your direct supervision, during research using the Material, you agree not to enforce any rights that you may have in the invention or discovery against the SGC or its members, and you hereby grant to the SGC and its members a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, world-wide, sub-licensable, assignable, and royalty-free license under any such rights.
- You agree to place the results of the research performed with the Material by you, your Establishment, and those under your direct supervision, in the public domain, by publishing results in one or more open access journals and by depositing the underlying data in a public access repository or, if not feasible, in an institutional repository accessible to academic researchers, within one year of publication.
- In order to track the impact of the Materials, you agree that you, your Establishment, and those under your direct supervision will acknowledge the SGC as the source of the Material in all publications resulting from, and in all presentations in scientific fora regarding, use of the Materials. The following statement will be included in the Acknowledgement section of all publications: “The [Material] was supplied by the Structural Genomics Consortium under an Open Science Trust Agreement:http://www.thesgc.org/click-trust”.
- You agree to receive, use, store, and dispose of the Material in accordance with good laboratory practice and in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, ordinances, and institutional policies.
- You agree that the Material will not be used in humans. If you use the Material in animal studies, you agree that you will comply with all applicable laws and regulations concerning the care, welfare, and ethical treatment of animals in the country or countries where such studies are performed. In order to ensure proper treatment and use of animals in such studies, you agree at minimum to: (i) adhere to the “3Rs” guiding principles underpinning the humane use of animals in scientific research – reduction, refinement, and replacement; (ii) ensure that appropriate housing and husbandry conditions are employed, and (iii) have the intended animal studies using the Material approved by an appropriate institutional ethical review board.
- You may distribute the Material to third parties who establish to you that they have also been appointed trustees of the Material by accepting the SGC’s Open Science Trust Agreement.
- The preceding terms of this Open Science Trust Agreement do not extend to derivatives of the Material you may generate or synthesize in connection with your research using the Material.
- You acknowledge that the Material provided to you pursuant to this Open Science Trust Agreement is experimental in nature and may have hazardous properties. The SGC makes no representations and extends no warranties of any kind regarding the Material. Except to the extent prohibited by law, you assume all liability that may arise from the receipt, use, storage, or disposal of the Material by you, your Establishment, and those under your direct supervision.
