§ 3710d. — Employee activities.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC3710d]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 63--TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION
Sec. 3710d. Employee activities
(a) In general
If a Federal agency which has ownership of or the right of ownership
to an invention made by a Federal employee does not intend to file for a
patent application or otherwise to promote commercialization of such
invention, the agency shall allow the inventor, if the inventor is a
Government employee or former employee who made the invention during the
course of employment with the Government, to obtain or retain title to
the invention (subject to reservation by the Government of a
nonexclusive, nontransferrable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice
the invention or have the invention practiced throughout the world by or
on behalf of the Government). In addition, the agency may condition the
inventor's right to title on the timely filing of a patent application
in cases when the Government determines that it has or may have a need
to practice the invention.
(b) ``Special Government employees'' defined
For purposes of this section, Federal employees include ``special
Government employees'' as defined in section 202 of title 18.
(c) Relationship to other laws
Nothing in this section is intended to limit or diminish existing
authorities of any agency.
(Pub. L. 96-480, Sec. 15, as added and renumbered Sec. 14, Pub. L. 99-
502, Secs. 8, 9(e)(1), Oct. 20, 1986, 100 Stat. 1794, 1797; renumbered
Sec. 15, Pub. L. 100-418, title V, Sec. 5122(a)(1), Aug. 23, 1988, 102
Stat. 1438; amended Pub. L. 104-113, Sec. 6, Mar. 7, 1996, 110 Stat.
779.)
Amendments
1996--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104-113 substituted ``ownership of or the
right of ownership to an invention made by a Federal employee'' for
``the right of ownership to an invention under this chapter'' and
inserted ``obtain or'' before ``retain title to the invention''.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 3708 of this title.
