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Title 35 — PatentsRelease 119-73not60

§204 Preference for United States Industry

Title 35 › Part II— PATENTABILITY OF INVENTIONS AND GRANT OF PATENTS › Chapter 18— PATENT RIGHTS IN INVENTIONS MADE WITH FEDERAL ASSISTANCE › § 204

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Small businesses and nonprofits that own inventions from federal funding, and anyone they assign the rights to, cannot give someone exclusive U.S. rights to use or sell the invention unless that person agrees to have the products made mostly in the United States. The federal agency that funded the work can waive this for a single case if the owner shows it tried but could not find licensees who would make the products in the U.S., or if making them here is not commercially feasible.

Full Legal Text

Title 35, §204

Patents — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no small business firm or nonprofit organization which receives title to any subject invention and no assignee of any such small business firm or nonprofit organization shall grant to any person the exclusive right to use or sell any subject invention in the United States unless such person agrees that any products embodying the subject invention or produced through the use of the subject invention will be manufactured substantially in the United States. However, in individual cases, the requirement for such an agreement may be waived by the Federal agency under whose funding agreement the invention was made upon a showing by the small business firm, nonprofit organization, or assignee that reasonable but unsuccessful efforts have been made to grant licenses on similar terms to potential licensees that would be likely to manufacture substantially in the United States or that under the circumstances domestic manufacture is not commercially feasible.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective July 1, 1981, but implementing

Regulations

authorized to be issued earlier, see section 8(f) of Pub. L. 96–517, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1980 Amendment note under section 41 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

35 U.S.C. § 204

Title 35 — Patents

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60