§2302 Rights in technical data

Summary

Requires the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to set the rules for who owns and can use technical data, like design, development, and manufacturing information. The rules cannot take away patent or copyright rights. For executive agencies covered by division C, the government cannot force a person who developed a product or process for sale to the public to give design or manufacturing data just to be allowed to sell it to the government. The only exception is data the government needs to operate or maintain the item, and then only if it gets that data as part of the contract. If technical data was made only with federal money, and the contract required delivery of that data and it is needed to buy large quantities later, the government gets unlimited rights and may use it royalty-free for government purposes (but not publish it outside the government). When making the FAR rules, officials must consider who paid to develop the item (federal, private, or both), certain congressional policy statements, and the government’s interest in more competition and lower costs. Contracts must say who has which rights, list the data to be delivered and delivery times, set how the data will be checked, put data on separate contract line items, flag restricted data before delivery, require updates for design changes that affect form/fit/function, require a written assurance that the data is complete and accurate, provide remedies if data is incomplete or inadequate, and allow the agency to withhold payments or use other remedies when data rules are not met.