Newsgroups: sci.physics
Subject: Society's New Contract with Scientists (draft legislation)
From: jim@netlink.cts.com (Jim Bowery)
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 08:16:05 PDT
Organization: NetLink Online Communications, San Diego CA

Congressman Brown sounds like he is serious about negotiating a
"new contract with scientists" wherein scientists are more directly
guided by society's needs.  The primary danger in this is that it
will degenerate into the kind of "science" represented by NASA
which is not science at all, but is really a jobs program for
engineers.  The first manifestation of this failure mode of 
civilian government science and technology funding is the 
centralization of funding authority which, in turn, creates a
familiar political logic wherein "consensus" is more important
than creativity -- and genuine discoveries/advances are seen as
a threat to the advocacy posture taken within the appropriations/
authorization process by those who manage to climb to the top of
the funding pyramid -- postures are totally out of touch with 
technical and scientific realities.

The following draft legislation proposes a new contract with 
scientists in which their funding is guided by society's needs,
and which avoids the historical failure mode of institutions
such as NASA by linking funding authority NOT to the position
one attains within a bureaucracy, but rather to the actual
contributions one has made to valuable technologies as measured
by one's contribution to total patent royalties.

Section 1.  Short Title
 
This act may be cited as the Science and Technology Competitiveness
Act of 1993.
 
Sec. 101. FINDINGS:
 
The Congress finds that --
 
        (1) Throughout history, mankind's quality of life has been
enhanced by the discovery of the properties of nature and the 
invention of useful techniques based on natural properties.
 
        (2) Nature's properties are shared by all.
 
        (3) Funding of science, in which research discovers properties of
nature, is a proper function of government.
 
        (4) Invention creates intellectual property belonging to the
inventor.
 
        (5) Funding of technology, in which development creates
intellectual property belonging to the inventor, is a proper function 
of the inventor.
 
        (6) The inventor, being most closely attuned to the utility of
nature's properties, is most capable of effectively allocating 
government science funding among various research proposals.
 
        (7) The inventor, being most insightful into the feasibility of
various inventions, especially as they are, by definition, not obvious 
even to those skilled in the applicable art, is most capable of 
effectively allocating private technology funding among various 
development proposals.
 
        (8) The inventor, specializing in the creation of intellectual
wealth, is typically not highly skilled in the business arts of 
acquiring and protecting the capital assets required for the material 
support of his development activities.
 
        (9) Our country was founded by scientists and technologists who
placed within our Constitution prohibitions against patents of nobility 
at the same time as they provided for patents of invention.
 
        (10) United States culture is based on the recognized nobility of
the creative act, rather than mere possession of property or inheritance.
 
        (11) Income from creator-owned intellectual property therefore
deserves preferential treatment in our laws and regulations.
 
 
Sec. 102. DEFINITIONS --
 
        (1) the term "Science" means the discipline by which people
discover the properties of nature.
 
        (2) the term "Technology" means the discipline by which people
create useful inventions and associated intellectual properties.
 
        (3) the term "Research" means the activity by which scientific
knowledge is acquired.
 
        (4) the term "Development" means the activity by which an
inventive technique is reduced to practice.
 
        (5) the term "Invention" is any useful technique not previously
existing and not obvious to those skilled in the applicable art.
 
        (6) the term "Administrator" means the Administrator of the 
United
States Patent Office.
 
        (7) the term "Authorizing Inventor" means any U.S. Citizen whose
name appears as the Inventor of at least one Authorizing Invention.
 
        (8) the term "Authorizing Royalties" means royalties paid for the
commercial use of an Authorizing Invention.
 
        (9) the term "Authorizing Invention" means any patent whose
assignee is not the United States Government and whose primary source 
of royalty payments are commercial in nature.
 
 
Sec. 103. GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
 
 
        (a) REVIEW -- The Administrator shall review proposals for
scientific research from any U.S. citizen, to ensure they are not, 
in fact, intended to support the development of a patentable 
innovation.  Such proposals must contain a dollar amount, a maximum 
period of performance and the name and address of the principal 
investigator.
 
        (b) PUBLISH -- The Administrator shall abstract, categorize 
and publish, the contents of all scientific research proposals.
 
        (c) ASSIGN AUTHORITY -- In cooperation with the Internal Revenue
Service, the Administrator shall assign a funding authority level to 
all Authorizing Inventors, which is the percent of total Authorizing 
Royalties each Authorizing Inventor's total Authorizing Inventions 
are responsible for, multiplied by the total amount of funding 
appropriated for scientific research by Congress.
 
        (d) TALLY AUTHORIZATIONS -- Authorizing Inventors shall, at their
option, inform the Administrator of the way they wish to allocate 
their funding authority among the reviewed research proposals, and 
the Administrator shall keep a tally of these authorizations.
 
        (e) DEFAULT AUTHORIZATIONS -- Funding authority not exercised
within a reasonable time established by the Administrator, shall 
result in the that authority being divided among research proposals 
in proportion to their tallied authorizations.
 
        (f) DISBURSEMENTS -- Principal investigators whose research
proposals receive full funding authorization shall be issued a 
cashiers check for the full amount requested within 30 days.
 
        (g) RETAINED AUTHORITY -- Research proposals not receiving full
funding shall remain unfunded and the unexercised funding authority 
shall be retained by the Authorizing Inventors into the following 
year, with the associated appropriations being invested in 1 year 
United States Treasury Notes during the interim.
 
        (h) DISCLOSURE -- The principal investigator of a funded proposal
shall fully disclose all results of his research, placing such results 
in the public domain and he shall do so within the period of 
performance stated in his proposal.  A list of delinquent principal 
investigators shall be published by the Administrator.
 
Sec. 104. TAX EXEMPTION OF INVENTOR'S AUTHORIZING INVENTION
 
        (a) Authorizing Royalties paid to the Authorizing Inventor shall
not be taxed, nor shall the income to an Authorizing Inventor from the 
sale of the assignment of or other rights to an Authorizing Invention 
be taxed.
 

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