S. 1657 and H.R. 4564, Research and Development Acts

GAO commented on proposed legislation to establish a Government-wide, uniform policy on the title to inventions arising from Government-funded research and development activities. There is common agreement that a successful patent policy would: (1) encourage commercial utilization of Government-sponsored inventions; (2) encourage active participation of private contractors in bidding for and performing Government research and development; (3) promote full disclosure of all contractor inventions to sponsoring Federal agencies; (4) result in reduced administrative costs as a consequence of management of patent rights by both the Government and its contractors; and (5) safeguard against unfair monopolistic advantages to individual firms. Both bills have three primary provisions which would: (1) establish organizations to coordinate, direct, and review the implementation, administration, and oversight of the Acts; (2) establish a general Government-wide policy with specific exceptions for allocation to the private sector of title to inventions made or first reduced to practice under Federal funding support; and (3) authorize Federal agencies to grant exclusive or nonexclusive licenses in any invention to which the Government has acquired title. While the proposed legislation is likely to have a positive influence on the first three objectives of the patent policy, its impact on the fourth and fifth objectives is less clear. The House and Senate versions of the legislation, although similar in purpose and objectives, employ different strategies for implementation. In the House version, the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology would be designated responsibility for general planning, policy, review, and reporting activities; the Department of Commerce would be charged with more operational aspects of implementation. In the Senate version of the bill, both functions would be lodged in the Department of Commerce. GAO preferred the House version which separated general policies and analysis activities from the more operational aspects of implementation. GAO felt that the proposed legislation was an important step toward accomplishing some important objectives of good patent policy.