§2302 Rights in Technical Data

Summary

Sets rules for who owns and can use technical data when the federal government buys goods or services. The Federal Acquisition Regulation will spell out the government’s and contractors’ proprietary interests. The rules cannot override patent or copyright rights. For executive agencies under division C, the government cannot force someone who developed a product or process that is being sold to the public to hand over design or manufacturing data just to buy that product or process. The only exception is data needed to operate or maintain the item, and only if that data is part of the contract’s required work. When technical data is created only with federal money, and delivery of that data was required by the contract and is needed to keep future large purchases competitive, the government gets unlimited rights in the data. Also, the government and its agencies may use such data without paying royalties for government purposes (but not publish it outside the government). Rules must consider whether the work was paid for by the government, by private funds, or by both, plus certain congressional policies and the government’s interest in competition and lower costs. Contracts must clearly say who owns what, list which data must be delivered and when, set acceptance procedures, give separate line items for data, identify any delivery restrictions ahead of time, require updates for design changes, require the contractor to certify data is complete and accurate, provide remedies for bad or missing data, and allow agencies to withhold payment if delivery rules are not followed.