REF ID:A104576 

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER 

DEPARTMENT OF TIIE A.'11lff 

WASIIINGTON, D.C. 

3 August 1950 

MEMORANDUM FOR: MAJOR JAMES R. MILLS, CHIEF, JAGO PATENTS DIVISION 

SUBJECT: Signal Corps Clearance of Release of Technical 

Information to Foreign Nationals 

1. For several years, the Signal Corps has follcn-red a policy 

of checking into the patent. copyright and proprietary aspects of 

technical information, before permitting such information to be released to the public {e.g., through the Office of Technical Services. 

Department of Commerce) or to foreign governments. This procedure 

has included writing to the contractor who supplied the particular 

information in question. to determine whether he had any objection 

to tho proposed release. This procedure has been followed even 

where, by contract, we had "Jbtained the right to use the information 

for any govermnantal purpose, since consulting the contractor in this 

way was considered to foster good public relations and to minimize the 

danger of jeopardizing the Goverl'.lment's licenses under the contractor's 

inventions. 

2. Recently, we ha.d the problem of' working out a procedure to 

cover the release of Signal Corps teohnical information to CADO {Central 

Air Documents Office). As a result of this experience, the Signal Corps 

has adopted the following policy which is designed to make it possible 

to release information as quickly as possible, and yet with a minimum 

danger to patent, copyright or proprietary rights. 

3. Where information has been obtained from a contractor with 

the right to use it for 8.l.'lY Govermnental purpose, and the proposed 

release is for a limited purpose, as to foreign govermnents or to 

military contractors for foreign governments, the information will 

be released with certain conditions attached. {These conditions are 

designed to safeguard the patent, copyright or proprietary rights 

involved in the information.) This release is to be made without 

first communicating with the contractor. We are now studying the 

practicability and advisability of notifying the contractor after 

the release has been made. 

COPY 

@'pp roved for Release by NSA on 09-17-2013 pursuantto E .0. 1352a 
!llemo i'or: ?rJaj Mills .. JAGO Patents Div. 

Subj: SigC Clears.nee of Release of Tech Info to For. Govts. 

4. Where the information is to be released to the public, i;he 

procedure referred i;o in paragraph l above is still being followed. 

5. Inclosure 1 is a oopy or a recent Signal Corps communication 

illustrating the new procedure covering releases to foreign industry, 

where such releases are sponsored by a foreign government. 

6. Inclosure 2 is a list ot several sources of polioy statements 

pertinent to this subject. 

LA.WHENCE GLA.SSMAN 

Pa tent A ti;orney 

Legal Division 

Office of the Chief Signal Officer 

COPY 

2 
REF ID.:A104576 

e 

Release of Signal Corps Reports on Niokel-Cadmium. 

SIGLG-6-IG Batteries to Industry in Canada 

Chief. Engineering Control 

Branch. E & T Division 

ATTN: Ur. Paul A. Davis 

legal Division. OCSigO 6 July 1950 

/7Z415 

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1. a. On 28 June 1950• Mr. Davis of your Division gave to Mr. Glassman of this 

Division. a copy of a letter dated 27 June 1950. to the latter Division, .f'rom W.aj. 

D. Wesley Xells. Canadian Army Liaison Officer in the Office of the Chief Signal 

Officer. This letter asked for permission to release. to industry in Canada, certain 

listed Signal Corps reports on nick:el-oadmium batteries, so that development work 

could be done on these batteries for the Ca.n.adian Government. 

b. Mr. Davis asked whether legal Division would havo any objection to this 

release of the listed reports. 

2·. a. The list in :W.iaj. Kells' letter does not indicate the contracts under 

which these reports were obtained by the Signal Corps. The provisions or each 

contract determine the rights of the Government concerning release of the technical 

information supplied under that contract. Therefore, the clearance given by this 

Division must be expressed in terms of the contracts involved. 

b. The clearance given below applies to any reports obtained under the 

following three contracts with Nickel Cadmium Battery Co.: 

W28-003-sc-1489 

W36-039-sc-32271 

"W36-039-so-38156 

and to Thomas A. Edison, Inc., contract no. W36-039-so-32137. 

o. (1) This clearance is also based on the assumption that the contractors 

who supplied these rep~rts have not placed. on any of them, a 

notice intended to restrict the Government's use or disposition 

of the reports. There should be no such restrictive notices on 

these reports. 

(2) However, this point has been mentioned because, in Contract No. 

W28-003-sc-l489, the Nickel Cadmium Battery Co. made it clear 

that it would not furnish certain technical information necessary 

for the manufacture of nickel-cadmium batteries, unless it were 

not itself in a position to meet the Government's requirements 

for these batteries. Again, under the Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 

contract, the contractor has the right not to disclose certain 

technical information to the Government. Either of these companies 

may actually have furnished some of the information which it had 

the right to withhold and. in furnishing the information., may have 

done so subject to certain restrictions on the use or disposition 

of the information. It is doubtful., however, that this has 

happened. 

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REF ID:A104576 

; . - sratG-6-LG s July 1950 

SUBJECT: Release of Signal Corps Reports on Niokel-Cadmium. Batteries to Industry 

in Canada. 

(3) If restriotive notices imposed by the contractor appear on aIJY 

of these reports, this Division should be consulted before the 

Canadian Government is authorized to release such a report to 

Canadian industry. (This comment does not apply, of course, to 

restrictive notices of the type desoribed in Par. 11 of Department 

of the .A:rmy document DA-DCMI-48, August 1948. This type of notice 

is added by the Govermnent.) 

3. a. This Division has no objection to the release to the Canadian Government of arry reports furnished to the Signal Corps under arry of the contracts 

mentioned in Par. 2b above, provided that no restrictive notices have been added 

by a contractor, and, provided also, that the Canadian Government is advised that 

the information may be released to Canadian industry only upon certain conditions. 

p 

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b. These conditions are as follows: 

(1) The information in the reports is to be released for use in 

connection with Canadian military contracts or projects only. 

(Z) The recipient is to be advised that the information is not, in 

whole or in part, to be published, or disclosed to anyone outside 

of the recipient's own organization, and that, in general, every 

reasonable effort is to be used to av~id jeopardizing any patent, 

copyright or other proprietary rights which may exist in the 

information. 

(3) The Canadian Government should be able, upon request of the 

United States Government, to state the name and address of the 

recipient, the date of the release, and the identification of 

the report or reports released. 

(4) The Canadian Government is to be responsible for any infringement 

of proprietary rights which may arise through use, in Canada, of 

any of the information: in the practising of any method or process; 

in the manufacture, use or disposition of any equipment; or in the 

dissemination or reproduction of this information; or in any other 

way. Such infringement is dependent upon Canadian proprietary 

rights (whether of the contractor who supplied the information or 

of some other owner of such rights) and upon Canadian law. The 

United States Government is unable. therefore, to state the legal 

difficulties which might exist in Canada in the use of the information. ~---~-
REF ID:A104576 ~ 

Arrrry Special Regulations No. 700-95-1,, dtd 18 May 1949, "Supplies 

and Equipment--General: Standardization of Materiel Among Armies 

Of the United States, United Kingdom,, and Canada" (especially, 

Pars. 7 b, d and e). 

Dept. of Army Registered Dootllllant DA-DCMI-48, August 1948, especially 

Par. ll. 

"Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement Between the United States of 

America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern 

Island" dtd 27 January 1960. 

COPY 
REF ID:A104576 

• 

EXTRACT FROM: 

Special Regulations ) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY 

No. 700-95-1 ) Washington 25, D. C., 18 May 

•••••••• 

SUPPLIES AND EQ.UIPMENT - GENERAL 

STANDARDIZATION OF MATERIEL AMONG ARMIES OF THE 

UNITED STATES, UNITED KINGDOM,, AND CANADA 

********** 

Section I 

GENERAL 

7. Security provisions.--The follmving security provisions will apply: 

a. Any ini'ormation or correspondence relating to the administration or 

to the existence of the tripartite standardization effort will be classified RESTRICTED. 

b. Information relating to specific lveapons or items will be accorded 

the security classification assigned by tho originating nation, and such 

information will not be passed on to nonparticipating nations without 

the prior approval or the nation in which the information originated. 

c. Publicity will be avoided strictly. 

d. Information and materiel exchange will be used for military purposes 

only ~d will not be released for commercial exploitation or public consumption. 

e. Technical information and materiel received from any nation will not 

be used in such a manner as to jeopardize the right of an individual or 

concern of that nation to obtain patent protection. 

f. For security purposes it will be assumed that liaison representatives 

are present for the purpose of being kept informed fully on matters relating to standardization with Canada. 

g. In.formation relating to standardization will be transmitted between 

the countries concerned in accordance with existing regulations concerning 

means and security ot transmission. 

h. An exception is ma.de to paragraph 26c(2), AR 380-5. to permit the use 

of domestic registered mail within the United Kingdom. 

i. The release of classified information to the United Kingdom and 

Canada is governed by DA DCMI-48 with tho exception that direct exchange 

of information relating to mat&riel and such items of research, development, 

and general technical procedures as are applicable to the operation of 

standardization which are not included in paragraph 10 is authorized. 
Articles V and VI or the U.K.-U.S. agreement on Mltual Defense 

Assistance, effective 27 January 1950, are as follows: 

Article V 

"l. Each contracting Goverrunent will take such security 

measures as may be agreed in each case between the two contracting Governments in order to prevent the disclosure or 

com.promise ot any- claseitied military articles, services, or 

intormation furnished by the other contracting Government 

pursuant to this .Agreement. 

"2. Ea.ch contracting Government will take appropriate 

measures consistent with security to keep the public informed 

ot activities under this Agreement." 

Article VI 

111. '!he two contracting Governments will negotiate appropriate arrangements between them respecting responsibility 

for claims for the use or infringement of inventions covered 

by patents or patent applications, trademarks, or copyrights, 

or other similar claims arising tram the use ot devices, 

processes, or technological information in connection with 

equipnent, materials, or services furnished pursuant to this 

.Agreement, or furnished in the interests of production undertaken by agreement between the two contracting Governments in 

implementation ot the pledges of self-help and mutual aid 

contained in the North Atlantic Treaty."