Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 15 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (§§ 15-1-101 — 15-76-324) › Subtitle 1 - DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC AND NATURAL RESOURCES GENERALLY (§§ 15-1-101 — 15-14-108) › Chapter 4 - DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY GENERALLY (§§ 15-4-101 — 15-4-3910) › Subchapter 14 - INVENTORS' ASSISTANCE ACT (§§ 15-4-1401 — 15-4-1408) › Section 15-4-1407 - Product development - Contracts

(a)
(1)
If a proposal is accepted for product development, the Center for Prototype Development and Emerging Technologies at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock shall prepare a product development plan which will include a technical plan for developing the product, time schedule, and estimated cost.
(2)
The center will have an established policy for making decisions to develop products utilizing appropriate resources and bringing the products to a commercial state.
(3)
The services of the center may include patent searches, applications for patent, copyright registration, market analysis, product research and development, assistance in obtaining financing, including financing from private resources, and business counseling.
(b)
(1)
If the inventor wants the center to develop the product according to the product development plan but is unable to finance all or part of the development, then the center may develop the product using in part its own or other resources, provided such resources are available.
(2)
The inventor shall be liable to pay a fee according to the policy set forth in subdivision (c)(3) of this section.
(3)
The inventor may finance the product development plan in full and, in such cases, there will not be any additional fee involved.
(c)
Before services to aid in the development of the product shall commence, the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas, on behalf of the center, shall enter into a written contract with the inventor which shall include, in addition to any other provisions consistent with this subchapter:
(1)
The services which the center will provide to aid in the development of the product;
(2)
Any other services which the center will assist the inventor in obtaining and for which the inventor shall be liable pursuant to written consent;
(3)
(A)
Authorization for the center to receive a fee not to exceed an amount equal to:
(i)
Ten percent (10%) of all royalties from the product for a period not to exceed ten (10) years from the first day after royalties are first received by the inventor;
(ii)
One percent (1%) of the gross sales revenue for a period not to exceed ten (10) years from the first day after the product reaches the commercial state;
(iii)
An equitable percentage of any consideration received from the sale, licensing, or transfer of any interest in intellectual property or proprietary products; or
(iv)
Any combination of amounts under subdivisions (c)(3)(A)(i)-(iii) of this section.
(B)
The fees shall be based on a consideration of the following factors:
(i)
The inventor's contribution to the financing of the product according to the product development plan;
(ii)
The center's contribution to the financing of the product according to the product development plan; and
(iii)
The potential for commercial success of the product;
(4)
(A)
A written agreement from the inventor that all products developed under the inventors' assistance program shall be researched, developed, manufactured, and packaged within this state and distributed from this state, to the extent that it is economically feasible.
(B)
Provided, wherever the products are manufactured, the fee set forth in subdivision (c)(3) of this section shall accrue to this state pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter;
(5)
Provision for acquisition by the center of any security interest in intellectual property as required to protect the state's interest in the fee set forth in subdivision (c)(3) of this section;
(6)
Agreement by the inventor that any assignment, sale, or licensing of a product or intellectual property developed under the program shall be subject to the center's security interest and that any contract with a third party for the assignment, sale, or licensing of a product or intellectual property developed under the program shall explicitly condition such assignment, sale, or license on the prior rights of the center; and
(7)
Provision for such fiscal reporting by the inventor, the inventor's assignee, or licensee as may be necessary to assure the performance of all provisions of the written contract.
Amended by Act 2017, No. 374,§ 6, eff. 8/1/2017.
Acts 1991, No. 707, § 5.