Article 21
Ownership of knowledge 1. Knowledge arising from work carried out under direct actions shall be the property of the Community. 2. Knowledge arising from work carried out under indirect actions provided for in Article 9(2)(b) and (d) shall be the property of the Community. Knowledge arising from work carried out under other indirect actions shall be the property of the participants carrying out the work leading to that knowledge. 3. Where several participants have jointly carried out work generating the knowledge referred to in paragraph 2 and where their respective share of the work cannot be ascertained, they shall have joint ownership of such knowledge. They shall agree among themselves on the allocation and the terms of exercising the ownership of the knowledge in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation and of the contract. 4. Knowledge arising from work carried out under cooperative or collective research projects shall be the joint property of the SMEs or the enterprise groupings, which shall agree on the allocation and the terms of exercising the ownership of the knowledge in particular in the consortium agreement in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation and of the contract. 5. If personnel employed by a participant are entitled to claim rights to knowledge, the participant shall take steps or reach appropriate agreements to ensure that these rights can be exercised in a manner compatible with its obligations under this Regulation and the contract. 6. Where a participant transfers ownership of knowledge, it shall take steps or conclude agreements to pass on its obligations, in particular concerning the granting of access rights, the dissemination and use of the knowledge, under this Regulation and the contract, to the assignee. As long as the participant is required to grant access rights, it shall give prior notice to the Commission and the other participants in the same indirect action of the envisaged assignment and the assignee. The Commission or other participants in the indirect action may object within 30 days of notification to such a transfer of ownership. The Commission may object to any transfer of ownership to third parties, in particular to those not established in a Member State or an associated State, if such a transfer is not in accordance with the interests of developing the competitiveness of the dynamic, knowledge-based European economy, or is inconsistent with ethical principles. The other participants may object to any transfer of ownership if this would adversely affect their access rights.