Third-party funding research refers to university research that is financed not from the budgetary funds available to the institution, but with resources from third parties, such as federal and state governments, foundations, or industry. This work provides a comprehensive and application-oriented overview of the legal questions that arise in connection with third-party funding research. It presents the relevant issues from the fields of higher education law, constitutional law, criminal law, tax law, civil service law, as well as industrial property protection and copyright, and outlines potential solutions. The appendix includes sample contracts and third-party funding guidelines. Thus, the study serves as a kind of scientific handbook on the law of third-party funding research.