[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19052-19054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09182]


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 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket Number: 180220199-819-01]


Request for Information Regarding Federal Technology Transfer 
Authorities and Processes

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings; Request for Information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The Federal government invests approximately $150 billion 
annually \1\ in research and development (R&D). For the results of this 
investment to produce economic gain and maintain a strong national 
security innovation base, the results must be transferred to private 
companies to create new products and services. In order to advance the 
President's Management Agenda to modernize government for the 21st 
century, including the associated Lab-to-Market cross-agency priority 
(CAP) Goal in coordination with the White House Office of Science and 
Technology Policy (OSTP), the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST) is initiating an effort to refocus Federal technology 
transfer on sound business principles based on private investment. NIST 
requests information from the public regarding the current state of 
Federal technology transfer and the public's ability to engage with 
Federal laboratories and access federally funded R&D through 
collaborations, licensing, and other mechanisms. Responses to this RFI 
will inform NIST's evaluation of Federal technology transfer practices, 
policies, regulations, and/or laws that promote the transfer of Federal 
technologies and the practical application of those technologies, 
including through commercialization by the private sector. NIST will 
hold public meetings regarding the initiative and the stakeholder 
engagement process at the times and locations indicated below.
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    \1\ Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States 
Government, Fiscal Year 2019, Ch. 18. Available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BUDGET-2019-PER/pdf/BUDGET-2019-PER.pdf.

DATES: 
    For Comments:
    Comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on July 30, 
2018. Written comments in response to the RFI should be submitted 
according to the instructions in the ADDRESSES and SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION sections below. Submissions received after that date may 
not be considered.
    For Public Meetings/Webcast:
    A meeting will be held on May 17, 2018 from 9 a.m. to noon Pacific 
Time at the Silicon Valley USPTO Regional Office in San Jose, CA. 
Requests to participate must be received via the meeting website no 
later than May 15, 2018.
    A meeting will be held on May 21, 2018 from 9 a.m. to noon Mountain 
Time at the Renaissance Denver Downtown City Center Hotel in Denver, 
CO. Requests to participate must be received via the meeting website no 
later than May 17, 2018.
    A meeting will be held on May 31, 2018 from 9 a.m. to noon Central 
Time at the Hilton Chicago/Oak Lawn in Oak Lawn, IL. Requests to 
participate must be received via the meeting website no later than May 
29, 2018.
    A meeting and simultaneous webcast will be held on June 14, 2018 
from 9 a.m. to noon Eastern Time at the NIST Campus in Gaithersburg, 
MD. Requests to participate must be received via the meeting website no 
later than June 8, 2018.

ADDRESSES: 
    For Comments:
    Responses can be submitted by either of the following methods:
     Agency Website: https://www.nist.gov/tpo/roi-rfi-response. 
Follow the instructions for sending comments on the agency website.
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``RFI Response: Federal 
Technology Transfer Authorities and Processes'' in the subject line of 
the message.
    Instructions: Attachments will be accepted in plain text, Microsoft 
Word, or Adobe PDF formats. Comments containing references, studies, 
research, and other empirical data that are not widely published should 
include copies or electronic links of the referenced materials.
    All submissions, including attachments and other supporting 
materials, will become part of the public record and subject to public 
disclosure. NIST reserves the right to publish comments publicly, 
unedited and in their entirety. Sensitive personal information, such as 
account numbers or Social Security numbers, or names of other 
individuals, should not be included. Submissions will not be edited to 
remove any identifying or contact information. Do not submit 
confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive or protected 
information. Comments that contain profanity, vulgarity, threats, or 
other inappropriate language or content will not be considered.
    For Public Meetings/Webcast:
    A May 17, 2018 public meeting will be held in the Silicon Valley 
USPTO Regional Office, California Room, 26 S. Fourth Street, San Jose, 
CA.
    A May 21, 2018 public meeting will be held in the Renaissance 
Denver Downtown City Center Hotel, Beauty Ballroom, 918 17th Street, 
Denver, CO.
    A May 31, 2018 public meeting will be held in the Hilton Chicago/
Oak Lawn, Oak Room, 9333 S Cicero Ave, Oak Lawn, IL.
    A June 14, 2018 public meeting and simultaneous webcast will be 
held in Building 101, West Square on the NIST

[[Page 19053]]

Campus, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.
    Details about attending the meetings and accessing the June 14 
webcast are available at https://www.nist.gov/tpo/return-investment-public-forums.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Courtney Silverthorn, Deputy 
Director, Technology Partnerships Office, National Institute of 
Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive MS 2201, Gaithersburg, MD 
20899, 301-975-4189, or by email to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Federal government invests approximately $150 billion per year 
in R&D. Of this total, approximately one-third is invested at over 300 
Federal laboratories \2\ across the country and approximately two-
thirds is invested at universities and private sector R&D institutions. 
For the results of this investment to produce economic gain and 
maintain a strong national security innovation base, the results must 
be put to productive use through applied research, services to the 
public, and transfer to private companies to create new products and 
services.
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    \2\ Includes federally funded laboratories, i.e., government 
owned/government operated, government owned/contractor operated 
(GOCO), and federally-funded research and development centers 
(FFRDCs).
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    Federal technology transfer policies and procedures are governed by 
legislation, much of which dates to the 1980s. A compilation of Federal 
technology transfer legislation, including the Stevenson-Wydler 
Technology Innovation Act of 1980 and the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 is 
available online from the Federal Laboratory Consortium.\3\
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    \3\ ``The Green Book: Federal Technology Transfer Legislation 
and Policy''. Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer, 
2013. Available at https://www.federallabs.org/learning-center/on-demand/reference-materials/federal-technology-transfer-legislation-and-policy.
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    Existing Federal technology transfer laws have served the Nation 
well over nearly four decades. These laws, which continue to support 
U.S. innovation, have been widely emulated by other countries. However, 
in an increasingly competitive environment, it is important to ask 
whether and how current laws, regulations, policies, and practices 
could more effectively promote technology transfer to productive uses, 
and, where appropriate, commercialization of federally developed 
technologies and Federal research capabilities, and also encourage 
public-private partnerships to reach their full potential to create 
value for the U.S. economy in the 21st Century. For America to maintain 
its position among the world's innovation leaders, it is essential that 
our technology transfer system functions effectively. NIST intends to 
engage broadly with private- and public-sector stakeholders to assess 
the ability of Federal technology transfer policies, practices, and 
efforts to meet current and future needs in a rapidly shifting 
technology marketplace, and to best serve U.S. competitiveness 
globally.
    In order to advance the President's Management Agenda to modernize 
government for the 21st century, including the associated Lab-to-Market 
CAP Goal in coordination with the White House's OSTP, NIST is 
initiating a Return on Investment (ROI) Initiative \4\ with the intent 
of conducting a comprehensive assessment of the Federal technology 
transfer system that will identify opportunities to improve Federal 
technology transfer efforts, policies, and practices. The goal of this 
effort is to, where appropriate, streamline and accelerate transfer of 
technology from Federal R&D investments to attract greater private-
sector investment for innovative products, processes, and services, as 
well as new businesses and industries that will create jobs, grow the 
economy, and enhance national security.
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    \4\ https://www.nist.gov/tpo/return-investment-roi-initiative.
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    NIST is seeking broad input and participation from stakeholders in 
Federal R&D, intellectual property, and technology transfer to assist 
in identifying and prioritizing issues and proposed solutions. This 
assessment will address: (a) Core Federal technology transfer 
principles and practices that should be protected, and those which 
should be adapted or changed; (b) approaches to improve efficiency and 
reduce regulatory burdens for technology transfer to attract private 
sector investment in later-stage R&D, commercialization, and advanced 
manufacturing; (c) new partnering models and technology transfer 
mechanisms with the private sector, academia, other Federal agencies, 
state, and other public-sector entities to support technology 
development and maturation; (d) new approaches that will reduce or 
remove barriers, and enable accelerated technology transfer, with a 
focus on areas of strategic national importance; (e) better metrics and 
methods to evaluate the ROI outcomes and impacts arising from Federal 
R&D investment; and (f) new approaches to motivate significantly 
increased technology transfer outcomes from the Federal sector, 
universities, and research organizations.
    The systemic challenges to effective transfer of technology, 
knowledge, and capabilities from Federal R&D have been discussed in 
studies, some of which are highlighted on the ROI Initiative website: 
www.nist.gov/tpo/roi. These challenges include:
     High transaction costs and slow response times associated 
with negotiating intellectual property terms and indemnification 
provisions,
     Inconsistent interpretation of requirements and 
authorities by Federal agencies,
     Inconsistent practices across Federal agencies,
     Limitations to intellectual property rights such as (i) 
inability to copyright software and digital products developed by 
government operated laboratories and transfer copyright protection for 
software and digital products to benefit U.S. companies, (ii) 
difficulties to protecting trade secrets and know-how when Federal 
laboratories work in collaboration with U.S. companies, and (iii) 
industry concern about the scope of required government use licenses 
and whether and under what circumstances the government may exercise 
march-in rights, and
     Requiring Federal employees to leave government service to 
engage in entrepreneurship and spin-off of technology companies as well 
as Conflict of Interest ethics provisions that make it difficult for 
them to access the resources they need to be successful in developing 
and commercializing the technology.
    To address these challenges, and others identified through this RFI 
and associated Public Forums, the ROI Initiative will utilize a 
multipronged process in which NIST will consider all available 
approaches, including:
     Identifying agency policies and best practices to promote 
consistent interpretation of existing authorities,
     Promulgating regulations that provide consistent 
interpretation of authorities across Federal agencies, consistent with 
agency mission, and
     If appropriate, seeking legislation to promote effective 
technology transfer.

II. Public Meetings

    Four public meetings will be held as indicated in the DATES and 
ADDRESSES section. Requests to participate must be received via the 
meeting website at https://www.nist.gov/tpo/return-investment-public-forums by the dates noted for each meeting in the DATES section. Fifty 
(50) seats for each meeting

[[Page 19054]]

are available on a first-come, first-served basis. All public meetings 
will be recorded and transcribed for internal NIST use only.
    For participants attending the May 17 meeting at the USPTO Regional 
Office in San Jose, a government-issued photo ID is required for 
building access.
    For participants attending the June 14 meeting at the NIST 
Gaithersburg campus, please note that NIST can only accept a state-
issued driver's license or identification card for access to Federal 
facilities if such license or identification card is issued by a state 
that is compliant with the REAL ID Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-13), or by 
a state that has an extension for REAL ID compliance. NIST currently 
accepts other forms of Federal-issued identification in lieu of a 
state-issued driver's license. For detailed information please contact 
Mary Lou Norris at 301-975-2002 or visit: http://nist.gov/public_affairs/visitor/.
    To request accommodation of a disability, please contact the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATON CONTACT, no later than seven (7) 
calendar days prior to the selected meeting to allow as much time as 
possible to process your request.

III. Request for Information

    Respondents are encouraged--but are not required--to respond to 
each question and to present their answers after each question. The 
following questions cover the major areas about which NIST seeks 
comment. Respondents may organize their submissions in response to this 
RFI in any manner. Responses may include estimates, which should be 
identified as such.
    All responses that comply with the requirements listed in the DATES 
and ADDRESSES sections of this RFI will be considered.
    NIST is interested in receiving responses to the following 
questions from the stakeholder community:
    (1) What are the core Federal technology transfer principles and 
practices that should be protected, and those which should be adapted 
or changed?
    (2) What are the issues that pose systemic challenges to the 
effective transfer of technology, knowledge, and capabilities resulting 
from Federal R&D? Please consider those identified in the RFI as well 
as others that may have inhibited collaborations with Federal 
laboratories, access to other federally funded R&D, or 
commercialization of technologies resulting from Federal R&D.
    (3) What is the proposed solution for each issue that poses a 
systemic challenge to the effective transfer of technology, knowledge, 
and capabilities resulting from Federal R&D? Please consider the 
approaches identified in the RFI.
    (4) What are other ways to significantly improve the transfer of 
technology, knowledge, and capabilities resulting from Federal R&D to 
benefit U.S. innovation and the economy? What changes would these 
proposed improvements require to Federal technology transfer practices, 
policies, regulations, and legislation?

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3710(g); Department Organization Order 30-
2A.

Phillip A. Singerman,
Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services.
[FR Doc. 2018-09182 Filed 4-30-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P