550.42—Intangible property.
(a)
The Cooperator may copyright any work that is subject to copyright and was developed, by the Cooperator, or jointly by the Federal Government and the Cooperator, or for which ownership was purchased, under a cooperative agreement. REE Agencies reserve a royalty-free, nonexclusive and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for Federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so for Federal purposes.
(b)
Cooperators are subject to applicable regulations governing patents and inventions, including government-wide regulations issued by the Department of Commerce at 37 CFR part 401, “Rights to Inventions Made by Nonprofit Organizations and Small Business Firms Under Government Grants, Contracts and Cooperative Agreements.”
(1)
Obtain, reproduce, publish or otherwise use the data first produced under a cooperative agreement; and
(2)
Authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use such data for Federal purposes.
(d)
(1)
In addition, in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for research data relating to published research findings produced under a cooperative agreement that were used by the Federal Government in developing an Agency action that has the force and effect of law, the REE Agency shall request, and the Cooperator shall provide, within a reasonable time, the research data so that they can be made available to the public through the procedures established under the FOIA. If the REE Agency obtains the research data solely in response to a FOIA request, the Agency may charge the requester a reasonable fee equaling the full incremental cost of obtaining the research data. This fee should reflect costs incurred by the Agency, the Cooperator, and applicable subrecipients. This fee is in addition to any fees the Agency may assess under the FOIA (5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A) ).
(i)
Research data is defined as the recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate research findings, but not any of the following: preliminary analyses, drafts of scientific papers, plans for future research, peer reviews, or communications with colleagues. This “recorded” material excludes physical objects (e.g., laboratory samples). Research data also do not include:
(A)
Trade secrets, commercial information, materials necessary to be held confidential by a researcher until they are published, or similar information which is protected under law; and
(B)
Personnel and medical information and similar information the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, such as information that could be used to identify a particular person in a research study.
(B)
A Federal Agency publicly and officially cites the research findings in support of an Agency action that has the force and effect of law; or
(C)
Used by the Federal Government in developing an Agency action that has the force and effect of law is defined as when an Agency publicly and officially cites the research findings in support of an Agency action that has the force and effect of law.
(e)
All rights, title, and interest in any Subject Invention made solely by employee(s) of the REE Agency shall be owned by the REE Agency. All rights, title, and interest in any Subject Invention made solely by at least one (1) employee of the REE Agency and at least one (1) employee of the Cooperator shall be jointly owned by the Agency and the Cooperator, subject to the provisions of 37 CFR part 401.
(f)
REE Agencies shall have a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice or have practiced for or on behalf of the United States the subject invention throughout the world.