The Code of Contract: A Primer for Academia

Abstract

A contract is an enforceable agreement in conformity with contract law. The business engagements of academia come under the purview of contract law, and it relies on the instruments of contract to secure its rights and economic benefits. Negotiation followed by drafting mutually beneficial agreement terms between contracting parties is critical to establish a strong business relationship. Drafting a legally correct agreement is quite daunting to scientists and engineers. Owing to scarcity of related literature in scientific journals and other public domains, the contract law and agreement drafts have all the more become abstruse to them. The present article addresses these gaps by unfolding the basics of contract law. It provides them an introduction of fundamental elements of a valid contract. This would help not only in deciphering the given agreement, but also equip them better for negotiation process and further drafting the agreements to shape valid contracts.