Each partner shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations, and operate in accordance with the highest ethical standards.

A partner shall be responsible for obtaining its own required approvals, including permits, licenses and/or work or travel authorizations (“Approval”), including for any biosafety protocols unless otherwise agreed. Where a Partner is listed on the Approval of another Partner,, the Authorized Partner shall provide a copy of such Approval to the listed Partner, the listed Partner shall comply with the terms and conditions of the Approval, and the Partner shall use the Approval only in furtherance of the associated Activities and Projects.

Activities and projects involving animal research subjects shall be conducted in accordance with the policies and approvals of all applicable research ethics committees.

A Partner accused of ethical or criminal misconduct in connection with ISL activities and projects shall immediately disclose such allegations to the other affected Partners and cooperate in the investigation of such allegations.

“Confidential Information” means any information that has been designated as confidential by either Partner in writing. No Partner shall make use of or disseminate other Partners’ Confidential Information without prior written consent. Each Partner shall treat the other Partners’ Confidential Information as confidential and safeguard it accordingly. Confidential Information shall not include information that: (i) is already known to the receiving Partner prior to the effective date; (ii) becomes publicly known without the wrongful act or breach of this Agreement by the receiving Partner; (iii) has been or is disclosed to the receiving Partner by a third Partner who has the legal right to do so; or (iv) is developed independently by employees of the receiving Partner who had no access to or knowledge of the Confidential Information. A receiving Partner may disclose Confidential Information to third partners as required by law or governmental regulation, however, the receiving Partner shall promptly notify disclosing Partner as soon as reasonably practical of such a requirement to enable the disclosing Partner to file for a protective order.

“Intellectual Property” or “IP” means any inventions, innovations, ideas, discoveries, developments, methods, data, results, products, devices, processes, or materials (whether or not copyrightable or patentable) which are conceived, derived, reduced to practice, made, or developed as a result of conducting the Activities & Project. Inventorship of IP will be determined according to U.S. patent laws. IP, whether or not patentable, which is invented solely by the employees or agents of one (1) Partner will be owned (including all rights, title, and interests thereto) by such Partner. IP, whether or not patentable, is which is invented jointly by employees or agents of two (2) or more Partners will be jointly owned (including all rights, title, and interests thereto) by such Partners (“Joint IP”). 

The Partners must take into account the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Each Partner shall maintain ownership of any intellectual property (including trademarks, copyright, patents and trade secrets) developed by or on behalf of such Partner prior to, or outside the scope of the ISL initiative. Nothing herein shall constitute a license for a Partner to use the other Partner’s intellectual property without prior written consent.

For all actions taken in association with the Activities, including the handling of animals, collection of biological samples, operation of a molecular laboratory and management and disposal of hazardous waste, the Partners agree to comply with all pertinent ethical and safety standards to protect animal, environmental, and human health. This may involve, but are not limited to, reviewing and adhering to applicable biosecurity standards, COVID protocols, meeting institutional animal care and use expectations, meeting or exceeding waste disposal regulatory requirements, and maintaining any associated documentation.

Participation in the ISL Initiative is voluntary and a member may exit the partner network at any time. If a Partner is notified that they are in violation of any ISL Standard corrective measures should be taken.

No Partner shall use another Partners’ names, logos, or materials for promotional or publicity purposes without prior written consent.

Authorship of scientific publications resulting from ISL activities shall be determined in accordance with standard academic and scientific practices, and Partners must be properly credited in publications as relevant.

The Partners agree that, in addition to using their own tools for external communications, technical program updates informed by ISL project scientists will take place on insitulabs.org, a central online location managed by Field Projects International (FPI) to facilitate a connected, global network of One Health laboratories. FPI will request permission from all relevant Partners before new technical updates are made public and also consult with relevant Partners before any sensitive information is incorporated into an update.

No Partner shall attribute media communications on their own channels to the other Partners, without prior written consent. However, once posted, one Partner may reuse such materials verbatim while accurately attributing them to the original Partner.

Each upholds their own commitment to the sustainable operation of ISL facilities in support of scientific research, wildlife health monitoring, and wildlife and habitat conservation, which are consistent with the formation of the ISL. The financial resources necessary to maintain the global ISL network will be covered by organizational Partners according to their budgetary availability or by external funding sources that have been previously coordinated.

Each Partner shall bear its own costs of participation in the ISL, except as may be otherwise agreed by one or more Partners in writing. 

Each Partner shall bear full responsibility for its own acts, omissions and activities associated with the ISL