ABSTRACT
Before every technology transfer the transferring and receiving sides must decide what is to be transferred and how to do it. The outcome is an agreement. Without an agreement nothing will go forward. Small agreements between private individuals can be gentlemen’s agreements. Gentlemen’s agreements rely on honor and trust between people for them to be carried out. Large agreements that involve many people and resources must be more formal. It is too risky for them to rely only on honor and trust. A legal agreement is a formal agreement between the parties that is drawn up within a framework of laws within which both sides agree to be governed.
