Current legislation is complex, and new projects run the risk of infringing existing patents.
A new support service is making contractors' lives much easier. Advising them on research contracts, consortium agreements, and patent applications, it helps researchers and companies to protect and exploit the results of their work. Online assistance Researchers can usually find a great deal of relevant information among the extensive resources available on the IPR-Helpdesk's website. Model contracts, consortium agreements, briefing papers and the latest RTD news are all available, while online tutorials clarify many aspects of IP issues. There is also practical information on IP for each individual EU Member State.