CONTENTS Statement of John W. Anderson, president, National Patent Council, as presented T. L. Bowes, general patent counsel, Westinghouse Electric Corp---- Charles I. Derr, vice president, Machinery & Allied Products F. C. Henriques, president, Technical Operations, Inc... Phil W. Jordan, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Office of Procure- Fritz G. Lanham, representing National Patent Council__ Hon. Russell B. Long, a U.S. Senator from the State of Louisiana_ J. Rabinow, Rabinow Engineering Co., Takoma Park, Md... Kimball S. Wyman, general patent attorney, Allis-Chalmers Manu- Adam G. Wenchel, Associate General Counsel, Post Office Department, accompanied by Edward M. Tamulevich, administrative officer, Office of Research and Engineering, Post Office Department.. Statements submitted by Government agencies not represented by wit nesses Max B. Paglan, General Counsel, Federal Communications Com- Robert E. Stewart, Veterans' Administration. APPENDIX A. Additional statement of W. Brown Morton, Jr., chairman, Committee B. Appended material to statement submitted by Howard I. Forman__ Page 411 494 336 466 452 385 542 346 369 405 527 555 322 440 520 481 422 503 380 400 398 394 571 580 595 GOVERNMENT PATENT POLICY WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 1961 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 10:10 a.m., in room 2228, New Senate Office Building, Senator John L. McClellan presiding. Present: Senators McClellan (presiding), and Hart. Staff members present: Robert L. Wright, chief counsel, Patents Subcommittee; Clarence Dinkins, assistant counsel; Herschel F. Clesner, assistant counsel; Thomas C. Brennan, investigator; and George Green, professional staff member, Committee on the Judiciary. Senator MCCLELLAN. All right, the committee will come to order. We are today resuming hearings on S. 1084, a bill providing for Government ownership of all patents arising out of Governmentfinanced research and development, and on S. 1176, a similar bill, introduced by Senator Russell B. Long of Louisiana. In addition to establishing a uniform patent policy for all Government agencies dealing with research, S. 1176 provides for an independent agency to administer all Government-owned patents. During the series of hearings held by the subcommittee last April we heard the testimony of Senator Russell B. Long, representatives of some of the interested governmental agencies, and representatives of a number of private corporations. Now we will hear testimony from the interested governmental agencies not previously heard, and additional testimony from interested private parties. We also have in our record a wide variety of views as to the merits of these two bills, but there seems to be general agreement that some legislative action should be taken to end the existing patent policy conflicts where two or more governmental agencies are dealing with the same contractors, with the same research objectives. We hope that some of the remaining witnesses can suggest a fair and equitable legislative solution to this problem in addition to their comments on the pending bills. In order that the hearings may be expedited and, if possible, concluded this week, I shall appreciate the summarization by the witnesses of their statements, wherever it is practical for them to do so. Mr. Counsel, call your first witness. Mr. WRIGHT. Mr. Maclay of the Department of Agriculture. All right, Mr. Maclay, will you identify yourself for the record, please, sir. STATEMENT OF W. D. MACLAY, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE; ACCOMPANIED BY S. P. LEJKO, ASSISTANT TO THE ADMINISTRATOR, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE; AND T. A. SEEGRIST, OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Mr. MACLAY. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am W. D. Maclay, Assistant Administrator, Agricultural Research Service. My associates are S. P. Lejko, assistant to the Administrator for Legislation and Special Assignments, Agricultural Research Service, and Mr. T. A. Seegrist, Office of the General Counsel of the Department. Senator MCCLELLAN. Very good. Now you have a prepared statement here of some 11 pages, I believe. Can you summarize your statement Off the record for a moment. (Discussion off the record.) Senator MCCLELLAN. The Chair directs that the prepared statement of the witness Mr. Maclay be printed in full in the record at this point. (The prepared statement of Mr. Maclay follows:) STATEMENT OF W. D. MACLAY, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, you have asked that we discuss with you the patent practices followed by the Department of Agriculture and to express the views of the Department with respect to (1) the probable effects of S. 1084 and S. 1176 on its operations; and (2) the section dealing with the patent rights contained in a report of Dr. Roy C. Newton, October 14, 1960, to the Secertary of Agriculture on "Utilization Research U.S. Department of Agriculture An Appraisal of Present Program, Staff and Facilities." Information on the patent practices followed by this Department was furnished to the committee staff. I will summarize on the patent practices followed by this Department. The research activities of the Department of Agriculture and of activities sponsored by the Department from which inventions result extend over five principal areas, namely: (1) Research by Department employees; (2) research carried on by private and public organizations and institutions under Research and Marketing Act contracts; (3) research by State agricultural experiment stations financed in part by Federal grant funds; (4) research carried out with public or private institutions under cooperative agreements; and (5) research under foreign agricultural research grants in accordance with Public Law 480, 83d Congress, as amended. These principal areas are carried out under the authority of a number of statutes. The principal ones are: (a) The Department's organic act of 1862; (b) the Agricultural Experiment Stations Acts starting in 1887 and reenacted in 1955; (c) a number of sections of the McSweeny-McNary Act of 1928; (d) section 1 of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1935; (e) the Bankhead-Jones Research Act of 1935, as amended by title 1 of the Research and Marketing Act of 1946; (f) section 202 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938; (g) title 2 of the Research and Marketing Act of 1946; (h) sections 104 (a) and 104(k) of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954. The first area relates to inventions which result from research by Department employees. The Department is operating under Executive Order 10096 and Administrative Order No. 5, dated April 26, 1951 (16 Federal Register 3927) in determining ownership of the domestic patent rights of inventions made by its employees. As we understand the Executive order and the interpretations which have been given it, ownership of the employee inventions is determined by criteria which accords essentially with the common law or court rules derived |