Some fundamental research projects may involve dealing with an outside
contractor or vendor that possesses information or technology relevant to the
project. This third party information will be proprietary and might have
nondisclosure restrictions in place in order to protect it.
Unlike university-generated information or technology, which is normally in
the public domain and exempt from export controls, a vendor’s protected data or
material will be subject to controls.
Non-Disclosure Agreements and Confidentiality Agreements are permissible as
long as they are outside the research program and do not affect the
intellectually significant portions of that research. The disclosure restriction
must not affect the ability to publish the research results.
Such agreements do not affect your ability to invoke the fundamental research
exclusion, because the restriction is not on the university-generated
information but is placed on information or technology belonging to the third
party.
See also:
Fundamental Research
