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January 11, 2021 | Tom Ballard

NIST reveals regulatory, legislative changes to tech transfer

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a notice of proposed rulemaking related to the Bayh-Dole Act, and the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) has published the following analysis.

The legislative package contains 10 proposals that primarily relate to updating Stevenson-Wydler’s authorization of federal technology transfer processes. Proposed changes include allowing cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) to extend to 12 years, increasing the annual cap on patent royalties paid to federal employees, and authorizing all contractor-operated labs to use the newer Agreements for Commercializing Technology (ACT) partnership models.

The notice of proposed rulemaking suggests numerous changes to the regulations governing the commercial use of inventions developed from federally-funded research. Many of the revisions are described as technical corrections or clarifications, with more substantial changes occurring to the regulations for filing provisional patent applications, the scope of march-in rights, and exclusive licenses procedures, among other issues.

The proposed rules have been published in the Federal Register, and those wanting to comments have until April 5 to submit their responses.


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