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Abstract
Food and Beverage companies need to share their Intellectual Property (IP) when they outsource production and/or R&D to contract agents. IP sharing can facilitate misappropriation and the contractor may eventually start competing with the client. We design an incentive compatible contract that can protect company IP. A two-pronged strategy is proposed: Companies should share less know-how and give high incentive payments to deter IP misappropriation. Strategies like product differentiation may be highly useful to deter piracy.