Sony Corporation of America, Sony Group Corporation, Sony Europe Limited Sony India Software Centre Private Limited, and Sony's Affiliates, (collectively "Sony") are very pleased that you wish to submit a research proposal ("Proposal") as part of the Sony Research Award Program ("Program"). "Affiliate" shall mean any entity that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, Sony Group Corporation. For purposes of the foregoing, "control" means having more than 50% ownership or the right to direct the management of the entity. You may not submit your Proposal unless you agree to these binding Submission Terms and Conditions ("Terms") on behalf of yourself and your university/institute. In order to have your Proposal considered by Sony as part of the Program, you must submit your Proposal to Sony by 11:59 pm Pacific Daylight Time ("PDT") on September 15, 2026, and agree below to the following:
Sony will accept applications from Principal Investigators ("PI(s)") who meet the eligibility criteria below.
PI's institution: PIs must belong to a university, educational institution, or governmental/non-profit research institute. (e.g., we accept submissions from research institutes that are categorized as governmental and Non-Profit Organization/Non-Governmental Organization in nature index tables).
PI's position: A PI must be a full-time professor (adjunct professors and adjunct researchers are not eligible) or researcher and be eligible to supervise Doctor of Philosophy "Ph.D." students at the PI's institution. Full professors, associate professors, and assistant professors are eligible to apply. For the United Kingdom, this includes Senior Lecturers, Principal Lecturers, Lecturers, and Readers who are eligible to supervise Ph.D. students at their institutions.
Countries: The PI, any Co-PIs and PI's institution must be in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
Co–Principal Investigators ("Co-PI(s)"): We accept applications that have a PI and one or more Co-PIs for the same proposal as long as all Co-PIs are acting from the same institution as the PI. However, only one award is made to the primary PI and the primary PI's university/institution if the proposal is selected. All Co-PIs must meet the same eligibility criteria as that for a PI, and Co-PIs will be required to sign Program documents.
See the specific instructions on the Sony Research Award Program Submission Guidelines (https://www.sony.com/research-award-program#SubmissionGuidelines) page for submission requirements.
Only submissions that follow the instructions and that are in the English language will be considered.
Sony will review Proposals that are submitted through the application link https://www.sony.com/research-award-program before the deadline. Proposals must be submitted via the online submission form that is specified in the link. You will receive a confirmation email once your submission is complete, and you must keep this confirmation email as proof of each submission. Sony will determine the award nominees and will notify them around March of 2027. If you are nominated to receive an award, after you are notified, your institution and Sony will conclude a sponsored research agreement.
If you are nominated to receive an award, you agree that you will participate and take certain actions to advance your Proposal. This includes, at a minimum:
DO NOT SUBMIT CONFIDENTIAL OR PROPRIETARY INFORMATION WITH YOUR PROPOSAL. Your Proposal, including any supplemental information provided to Sony during any additional assessment discussions between you and Sony, is not confidential or proprietary. By clicking on the acceptance box at the end of these Terms, you agree to grant Sony all rights to anything that you share with Sony in your Proposal. We may or may not use your Proposal in a product or service. We may or may not have products and/or services currently in development that are similar or even identical to your Proposal. You are free to continue using the Proposal in any way you see fit. Proposals will not be returned. If you do not agree to give us these rights, do not agree to or accept the Terms below, and do not submit your Proposal.
If your Proposal is chosen, your institution, and Sony will need to conclude a sponsored research agreement. IP rights will be specified in the sponsored research agreement. At a minimum, Sony requires the right to utilize, for non-commercial uses, the results of the research, including potentially patentable subject matter, that it sponsors. Sony will also require full noncommercial use rights to any background IP that is required for Sony to utilize the research results sponsored. If your institute and Sony cannot agree on terms by June 30, 2027, you will not receive the award.
You agree that any dispute regarding your submission will be decided by binding arbitration, unless it is your institution's written policy to not be subject to binding arbitration, pursuant to JAMS' Streamlined US, or for EU under EU Arbitration Rules and Procedures, or for India under Indian Code of Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, depending on where your university/institute is situated. To begin arbitration, either you or Sony must make a written demand to the other party for arbitration. In the US, the arbitration will take place before a single arbitrator located either in San Jose, California or a location that is mutually agreed upon. In the EU, the arbitration will take place before three mutually picked arbitrators before the European Court of Arbitration. In India, the provisions of The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 shall apply and the arbitration will take place before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre India Representative Office in Mumbai, India. The filing fees to begin and carry out arbitration will be shared equally between you and Sony. This does not prohibit the arbitrator from awarding the prevailing party their fees and expenses of the arbitration.
Under no circumstances will either party be liable to the other party for any consequential, direct, incidental, indirect, punitive, or special damages related to the Program or your submission or Proposal, even if such party or its authorized representative has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some US states or EU countries do not allow the limitation of consequential or incidental damages, so the above exclusions or limitations may not apply to you.
These Terms are the entire agreement between Sony and you with respect to your submission and your Proposal. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms unenforceable, such provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the remainder of these Terms will continue in full force and effect.
I certify that I am authorized to bind both myself and my university/institute. I have carefully read and agree to all of these Terms on my and my university's/institute's behalf.
