Implementation

The Chinese National Compound Library (CNCL) will serve the goals of the national mega program on drug discovery and development by fully displaying China’s unique resources. It will adopt an inclusive policy to mobilize nationwide efforts in building a public resource platform characteristic of service and non-profit. Our ultimate aim is to share resource, information and benefit under the framework (see below) of intellectual property right (IPR) protection.

(1) Information of commercially accessed compound is open to the public and request may be granted at cost or with market price. CNCL will not ask the intentions for use. In that case, for any unknown biological activity discovered, the IPR belongs to the requester.

(2) Certain non-commercially acquired compounds are also open to the public at synthesis cost, if agreed by the provider. The intellectual property ownership of any newly discovered biological activity will be dealt with between the provider and the user.

(3) Compounds acquired through cooperation and donation are not open to the public and all relative information is confidential in observance of the original contractual obligations. Research institutions and pharmaceutical companies can use the compounds in the form of collaboration with the owner. Such cooperation should be applied, reviewed and implemented on a case-by-case basis with full consideration to the following facts: the advantage, maturity and druggability of the target in question; legal commitment to the original collaborator or donator; feasibility of the proposed screening approach or method; and the existing stock and supply limits of the compound selected. CNCL will offer assistance in communications between the parties and the resulting IPR should be shared by all stackholders.

(4) CNCL will form strategic alliances with domestic research institutions and pharmaceutical companies that possess either screening capabilities or compound libraries, under the spirit of mutual benefits, to integrate the human, material and intellectual resources by means of standardization, separate storage and independent management. This integration will enhance the chance of discovering active compound and reduce duplicate screening efforts. Through such a network consisting of the core library, satellite libraries and compound providers, we will be able to exchange compounds and bioassays and to create a nationwide resource sharing mechanism under the guidance of ”fair play".

     How does Chinese National Compound Library (CNCL) deal with intellectual property ownership issues?

For compounds supplied by CNCL, the intellectual property ownership of any post-study results belongs to the requester exclusively, jointly owned or shared, according to the source of the compound. In principle, CNCL will not make any claim against property of others. However, it should be acknowledged appropriately in any resultant publications.