Rights to inventions arising from industrially sponsored research are usually prescribed in a research contract containing a work statement and other terms and conditions of the award. Sponsors generally receive the first option on a license to technology resulting from research which they support. As the contractor for the specified research, the University must ensure that it has not committed rights to technologies to multiple sponsors. In dealing with potential industrial sponsors, faculty investigators should thus be sensitive to this possibility. The consequences of commingling Intellectual Property rights can be substantial. Until such time as they are resolved, disputes over sponsor rights between or among sponsors can limit or eliminate opportunities for additional industrial support for promising research areas. Unfortunately, such disputes can last for years.