record, and evaluate the practices of the agencies pursuant to the policy guidelines.

This memorandum and the statement of policy shall be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER.

JOHN F. KENNEDY

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT PATENT POLICY

BASIC CONSIDERATIONS

A. The government expends large sums for the conduct of research and development which results in a considerable number of inventions and discoveries.

B. The inventions in scientific and technological fields resulting from work performed under government contracts constitute a valuable national resource.

C. The use and practice of these inventions and discoveries should stimulate inventors, meet the needs of the government, recognize the equities of the contractor, and serve the public interest.

D. The public interest in a dynamic and efficient economy requires that efforts be made to encourage the expeditious development and civilian use of these inventions. Both the need for incentives to draw forth private initiatives to this end, and the need to promote healthy competition in industry must be weighed in the disposition of patent rights under government contracts. Where exclusive rights are acquired by the contractor, he remains subject to the provisions of the antitrust laws.

E. The public interest is also served by sharing of benefits of government-financed research and development with foreign countries to a degree consistent with our international programs and with the objectives of U.S. foreign policy.

F. There is growing importance attaching to the acquisition of foreign patent rights in furtherance of the interests of U.S. industry and the government.

G. The prudent administration of government research and development calls for a government-wide policy on the disposition of inventions made under government contracts reflecting common principles and objectives, to the extent consistent with the missions of the respective agencies. The policy must recognize the need for flexibility to accommodate special situations.

POLICY

SECTION 1. The following basic policy is established for all government agencies with respect to inventions or discoveries made in the course of or under any contract of any government agency, subject to specific statutes governing the disposition of patent rights of certain government agencies.

(a) Where

(1) a principal purpose of the contract is to create, develop or improve products, processes, or methods which are intended for commer

cial use (or which are otherwise intended to be made available for use) by the general public at home or abroad, or which will be required for such use by governmental regulations; or

(2) a principal purpose of the contract is for exploration into fields which directly concern the public health or public welfare; or

(3) the contract is in a field of science or technology in which there has been little significant experience outside of work funded by the government, or where the government has been the principal developer of the field, and the acquisition of exclusive rights at the time of contracting might confer on the contractor a preferred or dominant position; or

(4) the services of the contractor are

(i) for the operation of a government-owned research or production facility; or

(ii) for coordinating and directing the work of others,

the government shall normally acquire or reserve the right to acquire the principal or exclusive rights throughout the world in and to any inventions made in the course of or under the contract. In exceptional circumstances the contractor may acquire greater rights than a nonexclusive license at the time of contracting, where the head of the department or agency certifies that such action will best serve the public interest. Greater rights may also be acquired by the contractor after the invention has been identified, where the invention when made in the course of or under the contract is not a primary object of the contract, provided the acquisition of such greater rights is consistent with the intent of this Section 1(a) and is a necessary incentive to call forth private risk capital and expense to bring the invention to the point of practical application.

(b) In other situations, where the purpose of the contract is to build upon existing knowledge or technology to develop information, products, processes, or methods for use by the government, and the work called for by the contract is in a field of technology in which the contractor has acquired technical competence (demonstrated by factors such as know-how, experience, and patent position) directly related to an area in which the contractor has an established nongovernmental commercial position, the contractor shall normally acquire the principal or exclusive rights throughout the world in and to any resulting inventions, subject to the government acquiring at least an irrevocable non-exclusive royalty free license throughout the world for governmental purposes.

(c) Where the commercial interests of the contractor are not sufficiently established to be covered by the criteria specified in Section 1(b), above, the determination of rights shall be made by the agency after the invention has been identified, in a manner deemed most likely to serve the public interest as expressed in this policy statement, taking particularly into account the intentions of the contractor to bring the invention to the point of commercial application and the guidelines of Section 1(a) hereof, provided that the agency may prescribe by

regulation special situations where the public interest in the availability of the inventions would best be served by permitting the contractor to acquire at the time of contracting greater rights than a non-exclusive license. In any case the government shall acquire at least a nonexclusive royalty free license throughout the world for governmental purposes.

(d) In the situation specified in Sections 1 (b) and 1 (c), when two or more potential contractors are judged to have presented proposals of equivalent merit, willingness to grant the government principal or exclusive rights in resulting inventions will be an additional factor in the evaluation of the proposals.

(e) Where the principal or exclusive (except as against the government) rights ir. an invention remain in the contractor, he should agree to provide written reports at reasonable intervals, when requested by the government, on the commercial use that is being made or is intended to be made of inventions made under government contracts.

(f) Where the principal or exclusive (except as against the government) rights in an invention remain in the contractor, unless the contractor, his licensee, or his assignee has taken effective steps within three years after a patent issues on the invention to bring the invention to the point of practical application or has made the invention available for licensing royalty free or on terms that are reasonable in the circumstances, or can show cause why he should retain the principal or exclusive rights for a further period of time, the government shall have the right to require the granting of a license to an applicant on a non-exclusive royalty free basis.

(g) Where the principal or exclusive (except as against the government) rights to an invention are acquired by the contractor, the government shall have the right to require the granting of a license to an applicant royalty free or on terms that are reasonable in the circumstances to the extent that the invention is required for public use by governmental regulations or as may be necessary to fulfill health needs, or for other public purposes stipulated in the contract.

(h) Where the government may acquire the principal rights and does not elect to secure a patent in a foreign country, the contractor may file and retain the principal or exclusive foreign rights subject to retention by the government of at least a royalty free license for governmental purposes and on behalf of any foreign government pursuant to any existing or future treaty or agreement with the United States.

SEC. 2. Government-owned patents shall be made available and the technological advances covered thereby brought into being in the shortest time possible through dedication or licensing and shall be listed in official government publications or otherwise.

SEC. 3. The Federal Council for Science and Technology in consultation with the Department of Justice shall prepare at least annually a report concerning the effectiveness of this policy, including recommendations for revision or modification as necessary in light of the practices and determinations of the agencies in the disposition of patent

rights under their contracts. A patent advisory panel is to be established under the Federal Council for Science and Technology to

(a) develop by mutual consultation and coordination with the agencies common guidelines for the implementation of this policy, consistent with existing statutes, and to provide over-all guidance as to disposition of inventions and patents in which the government has any right or interest; and

(b) encourage the acquisition of data by government agencies on the disposition of patent rights to inventions resulting from federallyfinanced research and development and on the use and practice of such inventions, to serve as basis for policy review and development; and

(c) make recommendations for advancing the use and exploitation of government owned domestic and foreign patents.

SEC. 4. Definitions: As used in this policy statement, the stated terms in singular and plural are defined as follows for the purposes hereof:

(a) Government agency-includes any Executive department, independent commission, board, office, agency, administration, authority, or other government establishment of the Executive Branch of the Government of the United States of America.

(b) "Invention" or "Invention or discovery"-includes any art, machine, manufacture, design, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, or any variety of plant, which is or may be patentable under the Patent Laws of the United States of America or any foreign country.

(c) Contractor-means any individual, partnership, public or private corporation, association, institution, or other entity which is a party to the contract.

(d) Contract-means any actual or proposed contract, agreement, grant, or other arrangement, or sub-contract entered into with or for the benefit of the government where a purpose of the contract is the conduct of experimental, developmental, or research work.

(e) "Made" when used in relation to any invention or discovery means the conception or first actual reduction to practice of such invention in the course of or under the contract.

(f) Governmental purpose-means the right of the Government of the United States (including any agency thereof, state, or domestic municipal government) to practice and have practiced (made or have made, used or have used, sold or have sold) throughout the world by or on behalf of the Government of the United States.

(g) "To the point of practical application"-means to manufacture in the case of a composition or product, to practice in the case of a process, or to operate in the case of a machine and under such conditions as to establish that the invention is being worked and that its benefits are reasonably accessible to the public.

NOTICE OF PROPOSED TRADE AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS AND
ARTICLES TO BE CONSIDERED FOR NEGOTIATION

In conformity with section 221 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, 76 Stat. 874, 19 U.S.C. 1841, and as President of the United States, I hereby direct publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER of this notice of proposed trade agreement negotiations, including the list of articles to be considered for trade agreement concessions under Title II of the Trade Expansion Act.

I. Proposed negotiations.

It is intended that the trade agreements authority conferred by the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 will be employed primarily in multilateral trade agreement negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). That authority may also be employed to conclude other trade agreements including but not limited to, agreements for the purpose of obtaining mutually advantageous tariff or other trade concessions, consolidating trade agreement concessions, or compensating other nations for modifications or withdrawals of United States trade agreement concessions such as those required to compensate for increases in United States rates of duty incidental to the promulgation of the Tariff Schedules of the United States.

II. List of articles to be considered for trade agreement concessions. (A) Every article provided for in the Tariff Schedules of the United States (28 F.R. 8599, as corrected 28 F.R. 9131)2 will be considered for modification or continuance of the existing duty to the extent permitted by sections 201 (b) and 254 of the Trade Expansion Act (19 U.S.C. 1821, 1884), continuance of duty-free or excise treatment, continuance or modification of any other import restriction applicable thereto, or imposition of any additional import restriction, pursuant to authority vested in me by section 201 of the Trade Expansion Act (19 U.S.Č. 1821); Provided that,

(1) The articles identified in part 2 of the Appendix to the Tariff Schedules of the United States, which I hereby determine to be articles presently meeting the criteria of section 225 (a) of the Trade Expansion Act (19 U.S.C. 1845), will not be considered for reduction of any duty or other import restriction, or elimination of any duty;

(2) The articles consisting of crude petroleum and certain products thereof and subject to import quotas under Presidential Proclamation 3279, as modified by Presidential Proclamations 3290, 3328, 3386, 3389, 3509, 3531, and 3541, which I determine to be articles presently meeting the criteria of section 225 (a) of the Trade Expansion Act, will not be considered for reduction of any duty or other import restriction, or elimination of any duty;

28 F.R. 11301. Oct. 23, 1963.

2."Tariff Schedules of the United States" or "Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated (1963)", Division of Public Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 20402, available for inspection at any field office of the Bureau of Customs or the Department of Commerce.