CELEX: 22009A0701(01)
Language: en
Date: 2007-11-30 00:00:00
Title: Agreement renewing the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and the Government of the Republic of India

1.7.2009               EN                               Official Journal of the European Union                                         L 171/19
                                                                     AGREEMENT
              renewing the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European
                                        Community and the Government of the Republic of India
              THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Community’,
              of the one part, and
              THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA, hereinafter referred to as ‘India’,
              of the one part,
              hereinafter referred to as the ‘Parties’,
              CONSIDERING the importance of science and technology for their economic and social development,
              RECOGNISING that the Community and India are pursuing common research and technological objectives in a number
              of areas of common interest, and that mutual benefits may be derived if the Parties facilitate cooperation,
              NOTING that there has been active cooperation and information exchange in a number of scientific and technological
              areas under the Cooperation Agreement between the Community and India on Partnership and Development signed on
              20 December 1993,
              CONSIDERING the EU-India Summit conclusions in Helsinki in October 2006, stating: ‘The leaders look forward to the
              renewal of the EU-India S&T agreement in 2007’,
              DESIRING to expand the cooperation in scientific and technological research with a view to strengthening the conduct of
              cooperative activities in areas of common interest and to encouraging the application of the results of such cooperation
              to their economic and social benefit,
              HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
                               Article 1                                            joint research carried out under this Agreement and any
                                                                                    other data deemed necessary by the participants to coop­
                               Purpose                                              erative activities, including, as necessary, by the Parties
The Parties shall encourage and facilitate cooperative research                     themselves;
and development activities in science and technology fields of
common interest between the Community and India.
                                                                                (c) ‘intellectual property’ shall have the meaning defined in
                               Article 2                                            Article 2 of the Convention establishing the World Intel­
                                                                                    lectual Property Organisation, done at Stockholm, 14 July
                             Definitions                                            1967;
For the purpose of this Agreement:
(a) ‘cooperative activity’ means any activity which the Parties                 (d) ‘joint research’ means a research, technological development
    undertake or support, pursuant to this Agreement, and                           or demonstration project that is implemented with financial
    includes joint research;                                                        support from one or both Parties and that involves collab­
                                                                                    oration between participants from both the Community and
                                                                                    India and is designated as joint research in writing by the
                                                                                    Parties or the Executive Agents. Where there is funding by
(b) ‘information’ means scientific or technical data, results or                    only one Party, the designation shall be made by that Party
    methods of research and development stemming from                               and the participant in that project;
 ---pagebreak--- L 171/20                EN                       Official Journal of the European Union                                             1.7.2009
(e) ‘participant’ or ‘research entities’ means any person, any           — visits and exchanges of scientists and technical experts,
    academic institution, research institute or any other legal
    entity or undertaking or firm established in the
    Community or in India involved in cooperative activities             — joint organisation of scientific seminars, conferences,
    including the Parties themselves.                                        symposia and workshops, as well as participation of
                                                                             experts in those activities,
                             Article 3
                            Principles                                   — concerted actions for dissemination of results/exchange of
Cooperation shall be conducted on the basis of the following                 experience on joint RTD projects that have been funded,
principles:
                                                                         — exchanges and sharing of equipment and materials including
(a) partnership for balanced mutual benefits;                                shared use of advanced research facilities,
(b) reciprocal access to the activities of research and tech­            — exchanges of information on practices, laws, regulations and
    nological development undertaken by each Party;                          programmes relevant to cooperation under this Agreement,
(c) timely exchange of information which may affect coop­
    erative activities;                                                  — any other form recommended by the Steering Committee
                                                                             and deemed in conformity with the policies and procedures
                                                                             applicable in both Parties.
(d) appropriate protection of intellectual property rights.
                                                                                                        Article 6
                             Article 4
                                                                            Coordination and facilitation of cooperative activities
                       Scope of cooperation
                                                                         (a) The coordination and facilitation of cooperative activities
Cooperation under this Agreement may cover all the activities                under this Agreement shall be accomplished, on behalf of
of research, technological development and demonstration,                    India, by the Ministry of Science and Technology
hereinafter referred to as ‘RTD’, included in the framework                  (Department of Science and Technology) and, on behalf of
programme under Article 164 of the Treaty establishing the                   the Community, by the services of the Commission of the
European Community and all similar RTD activities in India                   European Communities, acting as executive agents.
in the corresponding scientific and technological fields.
This Agreement does not affect the participation of India in             (b) The executive agents shall establish a Steering Committee on
other Community activities.                                                  S&T Cooperation, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Steering
                                                                             Committee’ for the management of this Agreement; this
                                                                             Committee shall consist of an equal number of official
                             Article 5                                       representatives of each Party and shall have Co-Chairpersons
                                                                             from the Parties; it shall establish its own rules of procedure.
                       Forms of cooperation
Cooperative activities may take the following forms:
                                                                         (c) The functions of the Steering Committee shall include:
— participation of Indian research entities in RTD projects
    under the framework programme and reciprocal partici­
                                                                                (i) promoting and overseeing the different cooperative
    pation of research entities established in the Community
                                                                                    activities as mentioned in Article 4 as well as those
    in Indian projects in similar sectors of RTD. Such partici­
                                                                                    that would be implemented in the framework of other
    pation is subject to the rules and procedures applicable in
                                                                                    Community activities not covered by the framework
    each Party,
                                                                                    programme, but which could affect and enhance the
                                                                                    cooperation under this agreement;
— joint RTD Projects; the joint RTD projects shall be imple­
    mented when the participants have developed a technology
    management plan (concerning dissemination and use of, as                   (ii) facilitating the development of joint RTD projects, to
    well as access rights to knowledge), as indicated in the                        be sponsored on a cost-sharing basis by the Parties,
    Annex,                                                                          received in response to an approved Joint Call for
                                                                                    Proposal text issued simultaneously by the Executive
                                                                                    Agents. The joint projects will be selected by each
— pooling of RTD projects already implemented according to                          Party according to the respective selection process of
    the procedures applicable in the RTD programmes of each                         each Party with possible participation of the experts
    Party,                                                                          from both sides;
 ---pagebreak--- 1.7.2009                 EN                          Official Journal of the European Union                                          L 171/21
      (iii) indicating, for the following year, pursuant to the first            those on tax and customs exemption) applicable in the terri­
            and second indents of Article 5, among the potential                 tories of each Party and in accordance with policies and
            sectors for RTD cooperation, those priority sectors or               programmes of the Parties.
            subsectors of mutual interest in which cooperation is
            sought;
                                                                             (b) Costs incurred on selected cooperative activities shall be
      (iv) proposing, pursuant to the third indent of Article 5, to              shared by the participants without any transfer of funds
            the participants of both Parties the pooling of their                from one Party to the other.
            projects which would be of mutual benefit and
            complementary;
                                                                             (c) An implementing arrangement would specify in greater
                                                                                 details the precise administrative and financial modalities
       (v) making recommendations pursuant to the fourth to                      for cooperative activities.
            eighth indents of Article 5;
      (vi) advising the Parties on ways to enhance and improve               (d) RTD projects, involving India, sponsored under Community
            cooperation consistent with the principles set out in                activities not covered by the framework programme shall be
            this Agreement;                                                      excluded from the provisions specified under (b) and (c).
     (vii) reviewing the efficient functioning and implementation                                          Article 8
            of this Agreement, including the activities there under;
                                                                                            Entry of personnel and equipment
                                                                             Each Party shall take all reasonable steps and use its best efforts,
    (viii) annually providing a report to the Parties on the                 within the laws and regulations applicable in the territories of
            status, the level reached and the effectiveness of coop­         each Party, to facilitate entry to, sojourn in, and exit from its
            eration undertaken under this Agreement. This report             territory of persons and equipment involved in or used in
            will be transmitted to the Joint Commission estab­               cooperative activities identified by the Parties under the
            lished in the framework of the Cooperation                       provisions of this Agreement.
            Agreement between the European Community and
            India on Partnership and Development.
                                                                                                           Article 9
(d) The Steering Committee shall, as a general rule, meet                             Dissemination and utilisation of information
    annually, preferably before the meeting of the Joint
    Commission established in the framework of the Coop­                     The dissemination and utilisation of information, and the
    eration Agreement between the European Community and                     management, allocation and exercise of intellectual property
    India on Partnership and Development, and according to a                 rights resulting from joint research under this Agreement shall
    jointly agreed schedule; the meetings should be held alter­              be subject to the requirements of the Annex. This Annex shall
    nately in the Community and in India. Extraordinary                      be an integral part of this Agreement.
    meetings may be organised at the request of either Party.
                                                                                                          Article 10
(e) Decisions of the Steering Committee shall be reached by
    consensus. Minutes, comprising of a record of decisions                                        Territorial application
    and principal points discussed, shall be taken at each
    meeting. These minutes shall be agreed upon by the                       This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand to the territories
    designated Co-Chairpersons of the Steering Committee.                    in which the Treaty establishing the European Community is
                                                                             applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty, and
                                                                             on the other hand, to the territory of India. This shall not
                                                                             prevent the conduct of cooperative activities on the high seas,
(f) For the Steering Committee Meeting, the travel and accom­
                                                                             outer space, or the territory of third countries, in accordance
    modation expenses of the participants shall be borne by the
                                                                             with international law.
    Parties to whom they relate. Any other cost associated with
    the Steering Committee Meeting shall be borne by the host
    Party.
                                                                                                          Article 11
                                 Article 7                                       Entry into force, termination and dispute settlement
                                Funding                                      (a) This Agreement shall enter into force on the date on which
                                                                                 the Parties have notified each other in writing that their
(a) Cooperative activities shall be subject to the availability of               respective internal procedures necessary for its entry into
    appropriate funds and to the laws and regulations (including                 force have been completed.
 ---pagebreak--- L 171/22               EN                          Official Journal of the European Union                                       1.7.2009
(b) This Agreement shall be concluded for a period of five years           (e) All questions or disputes related to the interpretation or
    and may be renewed by mutual agreement between the                         implementation of this Agreement shall be settled by
    Parties after evaluation during the last year of the aforemen­             mutual agreement between the Parties.
    tioned period.
(c) This Agreement may be amended by agreement of the                                                 Article 12
    Parties. Amendments shall enter into force on the date on
    which the Parties have notified each other in writing that             This Agreement is drawn up in duplicate in the Bulgarian,
    their respective internal procedures necessary for amending            Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French,
    this Agreement have been completed.                                    German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian,
                                                                           Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian,
                                                                           Spanish, Swedish and Hindi languages, each of these texts
(d) This Agreement may be terminated at any time by either                 being equally authentic.
    Party upon six months’ written notice. The expiration or
    termination of this Agreement shall not affect the validity
    or duration of any arrangements made under it, or any
    specific rights and obligations that have accrued in                   In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorised
    compliance with the Annex.                                             thereto, have signed this agreement.
               Съставено в Ню Делхи на тридесети ноември две хиляди и седма година.
               Hecho en Nueva Delhi, el treinta de noviembre de dos mil siete.
               V Dillí dne třicátého listopadu dva tisíce sedm.
               Udfærdiget i New Delhi den tredivte november to tusind og syv.
               Geschehen zu New Delhi am dreißigsten November zweitausendsieben.
               Kahe tuhande seitsmenda aasta novembrikuu kolmekümnendal päeval New Delhis.
               Έγινε στo Nέο Δελχί, στις τριάντα Νοεμβρίου δύο χιλιάδες επτά.
               Done at New Delhi on the thirtieth day of November in the year two thousand and seven.
               Fait à New Delhi, le trente novembre deux mille sept.
               Fatto a Nuova Delhi, addì trenta novembre duemilasette.
               Ņūdeli, divtūkstoš septītā gada trīsdesmitajā novembrī.
               Priimta du tūkstančiai septintųjų metų lapkričio trisdešimtą dieną Naujajame Delyje.
               Kelt Újdelhiben, a kétezer-hetedik év november harmincadik napján.
               Magħmul fi New Delhi, fit-tletin jum ta' Novembru tas-sena elfejn u sebgħa.
               Gedaan te New Delhi, de dertigste november tweeduizend zeven.
               Sporządzono w Nowym Delhi, dnia trzydziestego listopada roku dwa tysiące siódmego.
               Feito em Nova Delhi, em trinta de Novembro de dois mil e sete.
               Întocmit la New Delhi, la treizeci noiembrie două mii șapte.
               V Dillí tridsiateho novembra dvetisícsedem.
               V New Delhiju, dne tridesetega novembra leta dva tisoč sedem.
               Tehty New Delhissä kolmantenakymmenentenä päivänä marraskuuta vuonna kaksituhattaseitsemän.
               Som skedde i New Delhi den trettionde november țjugohundrasju.
 ---pagebreak--- 1.7.2009         EN                          Official Journal of the European Union L 171/23
         За Европейската общност
         Por la Comunidad Europea
         Za Evropské spolecenství
         På vegne af Det Europæiske Fællesskab
         Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft
         Euroopa Ühenduse nimel
         Για την Ευρωπαïκή Κοινότητα
         For the European Community
         Pour la Communauté européenne
         Per la Comunità europea
         Eiropas Kopienas vārdā
         Europos Bendrijos vardu
         Az Európai Közösség részéről
         Gћall-Komunità Ewropea
         Voor de Europese Gemeenschap
         W imieniu Wspólnoty Europejskiej
         Pela Comunidade Europeia
         Pentru Comunitatea Europeană
         Za Európske spoločenstvo
         Za Evropsko skupnost
         Euroopan yhteisön puolesta
         För Europeiska gemenskapen
         За правителството на Република Индия
         Por el Gobierno de la República de la India
         Za vládu Indické republiky
         På vegne af regeringen for Republikken Indien
         Für die Regierung der Republik Indien
         India Vabariigi valitsuse nimel
         Για την κυβέρνηση της Δημοκρατίας της Ινδίας
         For the Government of the Republic of India
         Pour le gouvernement de la République de l'Inde
         Per il governo della Republica dell'India
         Indijas Republikas valdības vārdā
         Indijos Respublikos Vyriausybės vardu
         Az Indiai Köztársaság kormánya részéről
         Għall-Gvern tar-Repubblika ta' l-Indja
         Voor de Regering van de Republiek India
         W imieniu Rządu Republiki Indii
         Pelo Governo da República Índia
         Pentru Guvernul Republicii India
         Za vládu Indickej republiky
         Za Vlado Republike Indije
         Intian tasavallan hallituksen puolesta
         För Republiken Indiens regering
 ---pagebreak--- L 171/24            EN                              Official Journal of the European Union                                               1.7.2009
                                                                       ANNEX
                                                     INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
         Rights to intellectual property created or furnished under the Agreement shall be allocated as provided in this Annex.
         APPLICATION
         This Annex is applicable to joint research undertaken pursuant to the Agreement, except as otherwise agreed by the
         Parties.
          I. Ownership, allocation and exercise of rights
             1. For purpose of this Annex ‘intellectual property’ is defined in Article 2(c) of the Agreement.
             2. This Annex addresses the allocation of rights and interests of the Parties and their participants. Each Party and its
                  participants shall ensure that the other Party and its participants may obtain the rights to intellectual property
                  allocated to it in accordance with this Annex. This Annex does not otherwise alter or prejudice the allocation of
                  rights, interests and royalties between a Party and its nationals or participants, and the rules of diffusion and
                  utilisation of information, which will be determined by the laws and practices of each Party.
             3. The Parties will also be guided by, and contractual arrangements should provide for, the following principles:
                  (a) effective protection of intellectual property. The Parties shall ensure that they and/or their participants notify
                       one another within a reasonable time of the creation of any intellectual property arising under the Agreement
                       or implementation arrangements and to seek protection for such intellectual property in a timely fashion;
                  (b) effective exploitation of results, taking into account the contributions of the Parties and their participants;
                  (c) non-discriminatory treatment of participants from the other Party as compared with the treatment given to its
                       own participants, with regard to ownership, utilisation and dissemination of information and ownership,
                       allocation and exercise of intellectual property rights;
                  (d) protection of business-confidential information.
             4. The participants shall jointly develop a Technology Management Plan (TMP). The TMP is a specific agreement to be
                  concluded between the participants in joint research defining their respective rights and obligations, including
                  those in respect of the ownership and use, including publication, of information and intellectual property to be
                  created in the course of joint research. With respect to intellectual property (IP), the TMP will normally address,
                  among other things, ownership, protection, user rights for research and development purposes, exploitation and
                  dissemination, including arrangements for joint publication, the rights and obligations of visiting researchers and
                  dispute settlement procedures. The TMP shall also address foreground and background information, licensing and
                  deliverables. The TMP shall be developed within the rules and regulations in force in each Party taking into account
                  the aims of the joint research, the relative financial or other contributions of the Parties and participants, the
                  advantages and disadvantages of licensing by territory or for fields of use, requirements imposed by applicable
                  laws, the need for dispute settlement procedures and other factors deemed appropriate by the participants. The
                  rights and obligations concerning the research generated by visiting researchers (i.e. researchers not coming from a
                  Party or a participant) in respect of IP shall also be addressed in the joint technology management plans. The TMP
                  shall be approved by the responsible funding agency, or department of the Party involved in financing the
                  research, before the conclusion of the specific research and development cooperation contracts to which they
                  are attached.
             5. Information or intellectual property created in the course of joint research and not addressed in a TMP will be
                  allocated according to the principles set out in the TMP. In the event of a disagreement which cannot be resolved
                  by the agreed dispute settlement procedure, such information or IP shall be owned jointly by all the participants
                  involved in the joint research from which the information or IP results. Each participant to whom this provision
                  applies shall have the right to use such information or IP for his own commercial exploitation with no
                  geographical limitation.
 ---pagebreak--- 1.7.2009           EN                              Official Journal of the European Union                                                L 171/25
              6. In accordance with applicable laws, each Party will ensure that the other Party and its participants may have the
                 rights to IP allocated to them.
              7. While maintaining the condition of competition in areas affected by the Agreement, each Party shall endeavour to
                 ensure that rights acquired pursuant to the Agreement, and arrangements made under it, are exercised in such a
                 way as to encourage, in particular:
                  (i) the dissemination and use of information created, disclosed or otherwise made available, under the Agreement;
                      and
                 (ii) the adoption and implementation of international standards.
              8. Termination or expiry of the Agreement will not affect rights or obligations of participants with regard to
                 intellectual property under approved ongoing projects in accordance with this Annex.
          II. Copyright works and scientific literary works
              Copyright belonging to the Parties or to their participants shall be accorded treatment consistent with the Berne
              Convention (Paris Act 1971) and the TRIPS Agreement. Without prejudice to Section III, and unless otherwise agreed
              in the TMP, results of research shall be published jointly by the Parties or participants. Subject to the foregoing
              general rule, the following procedures shall apply:
             1. In the case of publication by a Party or public bodies of that Party of scientific and technical journals, articles,
                 reports, books, including video and software arising from joint research pursuant to the Agreement, the other
                 Party will be entitled to a worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free license to translate, reproduce, adapt,
                 transmit and publicly distribute such works.
             2. The Parties shall endeavour to disseminate literary works of a scientific character arising from joint research
                 pursuant to the Agreement and published by independent publishers as widely as possible.
             3. All copies of a copyright work to be publicly distributed and prepared under this provision shall indicate the
                 names of the author(s) of the work unless an author explicitly declines to be named. Copies shall also bear a
                 clearly visible acknowledgement of the cooperative support of the Parties.
         III. Undisclosed information
              A. Documentary undisclosed information
                 1. Each Party, its agencies or its participants, as appropriate, shall identify at the earliest possible moment, and
                      preferably in the TMP, the information that they wish to remain undisclosed in relation to the Agreement,
                      taking into account, inter alia, the following criteria:
                      (a) secrecy of the information in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration or assembly
                          of its components, generally known among, or readily accessible by lawful means to, experts in the fields;
                      (b) the actual or potential commercial value of the information by virtue of its secrecy;
                      (c) previous protection of the information in the sense that it has been subject to steps that were reasonable
                          under the circumstances by the person lawfully in control, to maintain its secrecy. The Parties and their
                          participants may in certain cases agree that, unless otherwise indicated, parts or all of the information
                          provided, exchanged or created in the course of joint research pursuant to the Agreement may not be
                          disclosed.
                 2. Each Party shall ensure that it and its participants clearly identify undisclosed information, for example by
                      means of an appropriate marking or restrictive legend. This also applies to any reproduction of the said
                      information, in whole or in part. A Party receiving undisclosed information pursuant to the Agreement will
                      respect the privileged nature thereof. These limitations shall automatically terminate when this information is
                      disclosed by the owner into the public domain.
 ---pagebreak--- L 171/26     EN                               Official Journal of the European Union                                               1.7.2009
            3. Undisclosed information communicated under this Agreement may be disseminated by the receiving Party to
                persons within or employed by the receiving Party and other concerned departments or agencies of the
                receiving Party authorised for the specific purposes of the joint research under way, provided that any undis­
                closed information so disseminated shall be pursuant to a written agreement of confidentiality and shall be
                readily recognisable as such, as set out above.
            4. With the prior written consent of the Party providing undisclosed information under this Agreement, the
                receiving Party may disseminate such undisclosed information more widely than otherwise permitted in
                paragraph 3. The Parties shall cooperate in developing procedures for requesting and obtaining prior
                written consent for such wider dissemination, and each Party will grant such approval to the extent
                permitted by its domestic policies, regulations and laws.
         B. Non-documentary undisclosed information
            Non-documentary undisclosed or other confidential information provided in seminars and other meetings arranged
            under this Agreement, or information arising from the attachment of staff, use of facilities, or joint projects, shall
            be treated by the Parties or their participants according to the principles specified for documentary information in
            the Agreement; provided, however, that the recipient of such undisclosed or other confidential or privileged
            information has been made aware in advance and in written form of the confidential character of the information
            to be communicated.
         C. Control
            Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that undisclosed information received by it under this Agreement is
            controlled as provided herein. If one of the Parties becomes aware that it will be, or may be reasonably
            expected to become, unable to meet the non-dissemination provisions of sections A and B, it shall immediately
            inform the other Party. The Parties will thereafter consult to define an appropriate course of action.