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Europe - IP Glossary - F

F

Fair and Reasonable Conditions (FP7)

means, within FP7 rules, appropriate conditions, including possible financial terms, taking into account the specific circumstances of the request for access, for example the actual or potential value of the foreground or background to which access is requested and/or the scope, duration or other characteristics of the use envisaged.

Fair and Reasonable Conditions (Horizon 2020)

in Horizon 2020, refers to the appropriate conditions, including possible financial terms or royalty-free conditions, taking into account the specific circumstances of the request for access, for example the actual or potential value of the results or background to which access is requested and/or the scope, duration or other characteristics of the exploitation envisaged.

Filing Date (patents)

is the date at which all necessary requirements for filing of a patent application have been complied with. In case of multiple applications for one same patent in several country the filing date of the first application will also act as the priority date.

Foreground

means, in the context of FP7, the tangible and intangible results which are generated within a given project, including pieces of information, materials and knowledge and whether or not they can be protected. It includes intellectual property rights (e.g. copyrights, industrial designs, patents, plant variety rights), similar forms of protection (e.g. rights for databases) and unprotected know-how (e.g. confidential material). Results generated outside a project are not foreground.

FP7

means the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (2007/2013), which is one of the three key funding instruments of the EU to support research and innovation.

Franchising agreement

a contract under which one entity (the franchisor), that has developed a proven model for conducting a particular business, allows one or more other entities (the franchisees) to use that business model, along with the right to use the franchisor’s intellectual property and know-how for a defined period of time in exchange for payment. The intellectual property rights that are licensed in a franchising agreement include trade marks and copyright, and often trade secrets, industrial designs and patents – depending on the particular business. The authorisation may also be given with regards to other distinctive signs, such as trade names.

FRAND

“Fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory” describes a type of licensing terms. Such terms are typically requested by standardisation organisations in the context of the standard-setting process, in respect of the licensing of patents linked to certain standards.

Free software

means computer software whose users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve.

According to the definition of the Free Software Movement, a program is free software if the program's users have the four essential freedoms:

  • The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 1).
  • The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish (freedom 2). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
  • The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 3).
  • The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 4). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
Freedom to operate search

refers to searches on intellectual property rights databases (such as patent databases) aimed at determining whether a product's commercialisation could infringe third parties' rights.

Funding body

means a body or authority, other than the Commission, to which the Commission has entrusted implementation tasks in relation to the Horizon 2020 programme.

Funding Schemes

means, according to the FP7 Rules for Participation, the mechanisms for the community funding of indirect actions.