ROBERT ADE. New Jersey, CHAIRMAN GEORGE E. BROWN, Jr Californis HAROLO VOLKMER, Missouri HOWARD WOLPE. Michigan RALPH M. HALL Tex DAVE MCCURDY Oklahoma NORMAN Y MINETA California TIM VALENTINE, North Carolina ROBERT G TORRICELLI, New Jersey RICK BOUCHER Virginia TERRY L. BAUCE ins RICHARD M STALLINGS. Idaho JAMES A TRAFICANT. Jr. Ohio LEEN HAMILTON Indiana HENRY J NOWAK New York CARL C. PERKINS, Kentucky TOM MCMILLEN Maryland DAVID L. PRICE North Carolina DAVID R NAGLE lows JIMMY HAYES, Lon DAVID SKAGGS Colorado JERRY COSTELLO, HARRY JOHNSTON Florida GLEN BROWDER, Alabama Mr. George T. Singley, III, Director Office of the Asst. Secretary of the Army (Research, Development and Acquisition) Washington, D.C. 20301-1155 Dear Mr. Singley: Thank you for testifying last Thursday at the Subcommittee's hearing on the Federal Because of the time constraints imposed by the services for Hon. Claude Pepper, we were Again, thank you for your testimony. DW:Wcw Sincerely, walquen DOUG WALGREN Chairman, Subcommittee on Science, Research and Technology Questions for Mr. Singley 1. At the present time, what review of laboratory-negotiated cooperative research and development agreements and licensing agreements is required at the Army headquarters level? 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Is the requirement that adverse action on any such negotiations be handled within 30 days from date of receipt by your department being complied with? What regulations and instructions still must be promulgated by your service to fully implement the cooperative R&D authority? What is the timetable? In the next year or so, what level of growth do you expect in the number of cooperative R&D agreements negotiated by Department of the Army laboratories? With regard to Section 11(a)(3), how has your Service insured that technology transfer is being considered positively in laboratory job descriptions, employee promotion policies and evaluation of job performance of scientists and engineers in your laboratories? Have your laboratories established Offices of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA's) and staffed them as required by the law? Are there any legislative changes to the law which you believe would be desirable? This is in response to your June 9, 1989 letter 1. Following execution of the agreement by the Laboratory Commander or Director, the agreements are reviewed by the Army Domestic Technology Transfer Program Manager on behalf of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research, Development and Acquisition in accordance with the guidelines provided as Attachment 2. The 30-day limit on handling adverse actions is being met in compliance with the legislation. 2. The delegation of authority to the Commanders or Directors of Army Laboratories and Research, Development and Engineering Centers (RDECs) to enter into Cooperative Research and Development Agreements has been formally completed, and interim guidelines on processing the agreements have been issued (Attachment 2). Revision of the Army Regulation (AR 70-57) to include the detailed guidance on establishing cooperative agreements is scheduled for completion by June 1990. No further action on the delegation of authority is needed. 3. The Army currently has 17 cooperative agreements in place, and this number is forecasted to be 100 or more by the end of FY90. 4. Information regarding legal requirements, DEFEWER -2 5. All Army Laboratories have established an Office of Research and Technology Applications, and 80 percent of these organizations are staffed with at least one full-time equivalent in conformance with the law. This entire issue will be resolved as part of the current program review. 6. Two actions by the Congress to enhance the technology transfer effort are recommended: a. Congress should consider providing copyright protection for computer software and courseware created by Federal employees and provide for royalties in licensing agreements as with government patents. b. Clear protection from unwarranted disclosure under an FOI Act request should be given to the information generated by the Federal collaborators in accordance with a statement of work under a CRDA. We would be pleased to provide any additional information that you might desire. Thank you for the opportunity to explain the Army's program on Domestic Technology Transfer. Sincerely, C.C. George T. Singley III Research and Technology Attachments P.0 SARDA-TR REVISED INTERIM GUIDELINES FOR PREPARATION AND REVIEW OF COOPERATIVE RESEARCH b. At the end of paragraph 11.2 of the model, add the words "under the provision of the Federal Tort Claims Act." c. If the other party (ABX Company, Inc.) insists, the following provision may be inserted at an appropriate location (such as paragraph 13.3 of the Model Agreement): 13.3 Ratification. In the event that the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Research Development and Acquisition) exercises the authority reserved by paragraph 8.1.3. ABX Company, Inc. shall have 30 days from notification of the required modification to ratify the modifications or terminate the Agreement. 3 The final negotiated version of the CRDA or PLA as signed by the laboratory commanders/directors will be provided with a cover sheet having the following information: 3E510 side .. f. Principal differences between the agreement and the Department of Commerce Model 4 The original and 2 copies of the completed CRDA or PLA (with cover sheets) will be prepared by the laboratory. The original will be sent to the Domestic Technology Transfer Program Manager, US Army Harry Diamond Laboratories, ATTN: SLCHD-TT (Mr. Clifford Lanham), 2800 Powder Mill Road, Adelphi, MD 20783-1197 where its receipt will be logged on behalf of the Office of the Assistant Secretary, the review will be coordinated, and records of each original CRDA and PLA will be maintained for the Army. At the same time one copy will be sent to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Arwy for Research, Development, and Acquisition, ATTN: SARD-TR (Dr. H. El-Bisi), Room, The Pentagon, Washington, DC 20310-0103 and the other copy to the Army Counsel for Intellectual Property, Office of the Judge Advocate General, ATTN: JALS-PC (Mr. A. Lane), Room 332A Nassis Building, 5611 Columbia Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-5013 for review. |