[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 124 (Thursday, July 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35076-35078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14004]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket ID: DOD-2021-OS-0055]


Request for Information Related to IP Evaluation and Valuation 
Methods and Techniques

AGENCY: Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense 
(Acquisition Enablers), Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Defense is soliciting information from the 
public (including, but not limited to, the private sector, academia, 
and other interested parties) related to Intellectual Property (IP) 
evaluation and valuation methods and techniques.

DATES: The due date for submitting comments is August 2, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and 
title, by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Mail: The DoD cannot receive written comments at this time due to 
the COVID-19 pandemic. Comments should be sent electronically to the 
docket listed above.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The 
general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the 
public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the 
internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without 
change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

[[Page 35077]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. George Winborne, Communications, 
Knowledge and Performance Management Lead, Intellectual Property Cadre, 
Office of the USD (Acquisition & Sustainment), at 202-815-3995, or 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DoD has been authorized to carry out a 
Pilot Program on IP Evaluation for Acquisition Programs under Section 
801 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 
(FY) 2020. To gain a better understanding of IP valuation and 
evaluation strategies and recommendations, the Pilot Program seeks to 
obtain the views of industry, academia, and the public.
    Given the broad functional, technical, and operational 
considerations of the DoD and the assessment scope spanning IP 
evaluation and valuation methods and techniques, interested parties do 
not need to respond to every category of information requested or 
question and may choose to offer additional information pertinent to 
the topic in the manner or format they prefer.
    Interested parties may respond to questions pertinent to their 
organization's technical focus, expertise, and evaluation and/or 
valuation capabilities. Submitted responses are entirely voluntary, may 
be unstructured, and should include only public information (e.g., do 
not include proprietary, business sensitive, or other forms of 
confidential information). Although not required, respondents are 
encouraged to identify the industry, academic, or occupational sector 
to which they belong.
    The following guidance applies generally to all responses to 
questions in topic areas (1) through (6) below.
    A. Each response should consider and identify the extent to which 
the response may be limited or otherwise affected by--
     The particular industry or academic sector;
     The particular technologies involved;
     The type of IP protections governing the technology;
     The particular type of contract or contracting vehicle 
used;
     Whether your organization is responding as an IP/
technology purchaser, seller, or both; and;
     Whether your organization is a prime contractor, 
subcontractor, or both.
    B. Responses should include only public information (e.g., do not 
include proprietary, business sensitive, or other forms of confidential 
information). However, if applicable, the response may indicate that 
additional responsive information may be available but is not being 
provided because it is non-public and would be subject to 
confidentiality restrictions. Preferably, in such cases the response 
will provide information in a more abstract or generic form that may 
still provide information responsive to the question, but would not 
contain any detailed, non-public information.

(1) Assessment Mechanisms for Program IP Evaluation

    a. What IP evaluation mechanisms and techniques used by your 
organization, or your industry or academic sector in general, could be 
adapted for use in DoD acquisition programs?
    [squ] Please rank the IP evaluation mechanisms identified in your 
answer above from the most beneficial to those that are less promising, 
and provide any relevant examples and rationale for such ranking.
    b. What commercially available IP valuation analysis and methods 
used by your organization, or your industry or academic sector in 
general, could be adapted for use in DoD acquisition programs?
    [squ] Please rank the IP valuation analysis and methods identified 
in your answer above from the most beneficial to those that are less 
promising, and provide any relevant examples and rationale for such 
ranking.
    a. Please identify any other emerging, innovative, novel, or 
otherwise ``outside of the box'' methods for IP valuation, 
prioritization, and IP evaluation techniques not identified above (in 
your responses to questions 1a. or 1b.) that could be adapted for use 
in DoD acquisition programs.
    b. Please identify acquisition planning and technology assessment 
techniques used by your organization, or your industry or academic 
sector in general, to analyze the use of a commercial product or 
service or non-developmental item as an alternative to acquiring a 
product or service that must be specifically developed for a particular 
DoD acquisition program.

(2) Development of Cost-Effective IP Strategies

    a. What does your organization, or your industry or academic sector 
in general, consider best practices for utilizing IP valuation and 
evaluation methods to develop cost-effective IP strategies?
    b. What factors should DoD consider in developing IP strategies 
that plan for uncertainties (e.g., design, requirement changes; 
emergence of disruptive technologies; selection of particular vendors; 
defining the sustainment strategy) associated with predicting 
downstream events, and for identifying appropriate flexibility and 
other potential options, when these uncertainties become more defined?

(3) Assessment and Management of IP Value and Costs

    a. Given the specialized mechanisms governing IP acquisitions in 
the national defense mission space, how can the DoD best identify, 
assess, and validate the value of different kinds of IP across the 
acquisition lifecycle?

(4) Cross-Functional Team of Subject Matter Experts

    a. Does your organization, or your industry or academic sector in 
general, utilize a designated group or team of subject matter experts 
to identify and manage IP issues on behalf of the organization (e.g., 
an IP Management Team; or a cadre of cross-functional subject matter 
experts analogous to that required for DoD at 10 U.S.C. 2322(b))?
    b. If so, how is such team or group structured, and what functional 
areas of subject matter expertise are represented (e.g., intellectual 
property, law, engineering, contracting, program management, product 
support and sustainment, financial analysis)?

(5) Engagement With the Private Sector

    a. In conducting the Section 801 Pilot Program, how can the DoD 
best engage the public (including but not limited to the private 
sector, academia, and other interested parties) to support and inform 
the development of IP strategies?
    b. In general, what processes and procedures can the DoD implement 
to enable its acquisition programs to better engage with interested 
parties in identifying appropriate IP evaluation methods in the 
development of IP strategies, preservation of program flexibility, 
increases in cost-effectiveness, and improvements in sustainment 
efforts?

(6) Future Activities

    a. What specific topics and questions not discussed above should 
the DoD consider including as part of future requests for information 
related to this IP Pilot Program?
    b. Please provide any additional comments or recommendations 
regarding the Section 801 Pilot Program that were not included in your 
answers above that may improve DoD's acquisition of IP.
    c. Although this initial request for information is limited to 
responses having only publicly available information, the DoD 
recognizes that respondents may have non-public

[[Page 35078]]

information that would otherwise have been responsive to one or more 
questions. Please indicate whether your organization possesses any such 
non-public information (e.g., proprietary, business sensitive, or other 
forms of confidential information) that your organization may be 
willing to share with the DoD in support of this IP Pilot Program 
effort in the future, provided that such information could be shared 
subject to appropriate confidentiality protections. If so, please 
identify the nature or type of confidentiality protections that would 
be necessary to allow for such sharing (e.g., use and disclosure 
authorized only for particular purposes or to particular categories of 
organizations or individuals). As discussed, please note that your 
participation is voluntary and that your responses may be unstructured.

    Dated: June 25, 2021.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2021-14004 Filed 6-30-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-P