14 CFR 1245.116 – Miscellaneous provisions
(a) Filing of patent applications and reimbursement of costs. In order to protect the interests of the Government and the petitioner in inventions, a petitioner may file United States patent applications for such inventions prior to the Administrator’s determination on a petition for waiver. If an application on an identified invention is filed during the pendency of the petition, or within 60 days prior to the receipt of a petition, NASA will reimburse the petitioner for any reasonable costs of the filing and patent prosecution that may have occurred, provided:
Terms Used In 14 CFR 1245.116
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
(1) Similar patent filing and prosecution costs are not normally reimbursed to the petitioner as direct or indirect costs chargeable to the Government contracts;
(2) The petition is ultimately denied with respect to domestic rights, or with respect to foreign and domestic rights, if both are requested, and
(3) Prior to reimbursement, petitioner assigns the application to the United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
(b) Statement of Government rights. The waiver recipient shall include, within the specification of any United States patent application and any patent issuing thereon for a waived invention, the following statement:
The invention described herein was made in the performance of work under NASA Contract No. lll, and is subject to the provisions of Section 20135 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act (51 U.S.C. Chapter 201).
(c) License to the Government. The waiver recipient shall return to NASA a duly executed and approved license to the Government (which will be prepared by the Government) fully confirming of all the rights, domestic and foreign, to which the Government is entitled.
(d) Patent filing and issuance information. The waiver recipient shall furnish to either the Chairperson or the patent representative, the filing date, serial number and title, and upon request, a copy of any domestic or foreign patent application including an English language version if filed in a language other than English, and a copy of the patent or patent number and issue date, for any waived invention.
(e) Transfer of rights. The waiver recipient shall notify the Chairperson prior to any transfer of principal rights in any waived invention to any party. Such transfer shall be subject to all rights reserved by the Government, and all obligations of the waiver recipient, as set forth in this subpart.
(f) Utilization reports. (1) The waiver recipient shall provide to the Chairperson upon request, and no more frequently than annually, reports on the utilization of a waived invention or on efforts at obtaining such utilization being made by the waiver recipient or its licensees or assigns. Such reports shall include information regarding the status of the development, date of first commercial sale or use, and such other data and information as the Chairperson may reasonably specify. No utilization reports need be submitted after the term of the patent.
(2) Such reports on the utilization of a waived invention, as well as information on the utilization or efforts at obtaining utilization obtained as part of a march-in proceeding under § 1245.117, shall be treated by NASA as commercial and financial information obtained from a person and privileged and confidential and not subject to disclosure under 5 U.S.C. § 552.
(g) Communications. Unless otherwise specifically set forth in this subpart, all communications relating to waived inventions, and all information and documents required to be submitted to NASA in this subpart, shall be furnished to the patent representative designated in the contract under which the waived invention was made.