CRDA EPA FLC GAO NIH NIST NTIS ORTA R&D ABBREVIATIONS cooperative research and development agreement Environmental Protection Agency Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer General Accounting Office National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Institute of Standards and Technology Office of Research and Technology Applications U.S. Geological Survey APPENDIX I APPENDIX I BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY BACKGROUND In carrying out their respective missions, federal agencies annually spend billions of dollars for research and development (R&D). In fiscal year 1988, the federal government spent about $63 billion on R&D, of which about $16 billion was for R&D at federal laboratories. These laboratories are a potential source of technology, technical expertise, and techniques that may have commercial application. The commercialization of these technologies is the responsibility of private industry, however, not the federal government. The movement of federally owned or originated technology from federal laboratories to industry and/or state and local governments is achieved through technology transfer--a process by which technology developed in one organization, in one area, or for one purpose is applied and used in another organization, in another area, or for another purpose.1 Stevenson-Wydler Act of 1980 As concerns grew about U.S. competitiveness during the 1970s, the Congress began questioning whether the federal government was receiving an adequate return from its R&D expenditures. The Congress passed the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), making technology transfer part of For a more detailed definition of technology transfer, see Technology Transfer: Utilization of Federally Funded Research and Development, Issue Brief IB85031, Congressional Research Service, April 14, 1988. APPENDIX I APPENDIX I This act the mission of all federal agencies carrying out R&D.2 also required federal agencies to establish at laboratories3 an Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA) that would identify technologies and ideas with potential applications in other settings. Key Aspects of the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 The Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-502) amended the Stevenson-Wydler Act to permit federal agencies to delegate authority to government-operated laboratories to collaborate with other agencies, private industry, state and local governments, and nonprofit organizations through cooperative R&D agreements (CRDA).4 The definition of a CRDA is broad. Under a CRDA, one or more federal agencies, through its laboratories, may provide personnel, services, facilities, equipment, or other resources (but not funds), with or without reimbursement, to one or more nonfederal parties who, in turn, may provide funds, personnel, services, facilities, equipment, or other resources toward the conduct of specified R&D efforts that are consistent 2At the time this act was passed, according to the Congressional Research Service, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was the only federal agency that had technology transfer as part of its mission. 3 The act originally required that an ORTA be established at each laboratory with an annual budget of $20 million or more. The 1986 act amended this, requiring laboratories with 200 or more fulltime-equivalent scientific, engineering, and related technical positions to provide one or more full-time-equivalent positions as staff for their ORTAS. 4Although the 1986 act made agency delegation of authority to laboratory directors permissive, Executive Order 12591, April 10, 1987, as amended, states that agencies shall, within overall funding allocations and as permissible by law, delegate authority to their laboratories to enter into CRDAS. APPENDIX I APPENDIX I with the laboratories' missions. The act sought to make entering into such CRDAs as easy as possible, while protecting the legitimate concerns of the government. The act's legislative history indicates that CRDAs were not expected to disseminate restricted information or to transfer classified technologies. Although the act states that a CRDA is not a procurement contract, agencies may adopt as many provisions of the Federal Acquistion Regulations as they deem appropriate. The act allows some flexibility in how agencies may implement a CRDA. Under a CRDA, a government-operated laboratory may (1) accept, retain, and use funds, personnel, services, and properties from collaborating parties and provide the same to the collaborating parties (except no funds may be provided to nonfederal parties); (2) grant, or agree to grant in advance, to a collaborating party patent licenses or assignments of licenses for any invention made in whole or in part by a federal employee (but the government must retain nonexclusive rights to use the inventions); (3) waive, in whole or in part, any right by the federal government to an invention, except for the nonexclusive right to use the invention; (4) determine the rights to other intellectual property developed under a CRDA; and (5) consistent with agency requirements and standards of conduct, permit laboratory employees or former employees to commercialize inventions they made while in the service of the United States. Moreover, memoranda of agreement which preexisted the 1986 act may meet the definition of a CRDA as long as the agreement does not transfer federal funds to participants and is for specified R&D directed toward a laboratory mission. To provide incentives for federal employees to promote technology transfer, the act established royalty sharing for |