II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1437

To protect researchers from compelled disclosure of research in Federal

courts, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 26, 1999

Mr. MOYNIHAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To protect researchers from compelled disclosure of research

in Federal courts, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Thomas Jefferson Re5 searcher’s Privilege Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS.

7 Section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code, is

8 amended—

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(4)’’; and

10 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(B) data, records, or information, includ2 ing actual research documents, collected or pro3 duced in the conduct of or as a result of study

4 or research on academic, commercial, scientific,

5 or technical issues, including—

6 ‘‘(i) unpublished lecture notes, unpub7 lished research notes, data, processes, re8 sults or other confidential information

9 from research which is in progress, unpub10 lished or not yet verified; or

11 ‘‘(ii) any other information related to

12 research, the disclosure of which could

13 affect—

14 ‘‘(I) the conduct or outcome of

15 the research;

16 ‘‘(II) the likelihood of similar re17 search in the future;

18 ‘‘(III) the ability to obtain pat19 ents or copyrights from the research;

20 or

21 ‘‘(IV) any other proprietary

22 rights any entity may have in the re23 search or results of the research;’’.
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1 SEC. 3. FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE.

2 Rule 45(c)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

3 is amended—

4 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

5 (A) in clause (iv) by striking the period

6 and inserting a comma and ‘‘or’’; and

7 (B) by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(v) requires disclosure of data, records, or

9 information, including actual research docu10 ments, collected or produced in the conduct of

11 or as a result of study or research on academic,

12 commercial, scientific, or technical issues,

13 including—

14 ‘‘(I) unpublished lecture notes, unpub15 lished research notes, data, processes, re16 sults or other confidential information

17 from research which is in any progress, un18 published or not yet verified, or

19 ‘‘(II) any other information related to

20 research, the disclosure of which could af21 fect the conduct or outcome of the re22 search, the likelihood of similar research in

23 the future, the ability to obtain patents or

24 copyrights from the research, or any other

25 proprietary rights any entity may have in
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1 the research or results of the research.’’;

2 and

3 (2) in subparagraph (B)—

4 (A) in clause (iii) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after

5 the comma; and

6 (B) by inserting after clause (iii) the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(iv) requires disclosure of data, records,

9 or information, including actual research docu10 ments, collected or produced in the conduct of

11 or as a result of study or research on academic,

12 commercial, scientific, or technical issues,

13 including—

14 ‘‘(I) unpublished lecture notes, unpub15 lished research notes, data, processes, re16 sults or other confidential information

17 from research which is in any progress, un18 published or not yet verified, or

19 ‘‘(II) any other information related to

20 research, the disclosure of which could af21 fect the conduct or outcome of the re22 search, the likelihood of similar research in

23 the future, the ability to obtain patents or

24 copyrights from the research, or any other

25 proprietary rights any entity may have in
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1 the research or the results of the re2 search.’’.

3 SEC. 4. FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE.

4 Article V of the Federal Rules of Evidence is amend5 ed by adding after rule 501 the following:

6 ‘‘Rule 502. Privilege for research information

7 ‘‘A person engaged in the study or research of aca8 demic, commercial, scientific, or technical issues may

9 claim the privilege to refuse to disclose data, records, or

10 information, including actual research documents, con11 cerning that study or research. Such person may refuse

12 to disclose unpublished lecture notes, unpublished research

13 notes, data, processes, results, or other confidential infor14 mation from research which is in any progress, unpub15 lished or not yet verified, and any other information re16 lated to research, the disclosure of which could affect the

17 conduct or outcome of the research, the likelihood of simi18 lar research in the future, the ability to obtain patents

19 or copyrights from the research, or any other proprietary

20 rights any entity may have in the research or the results

21 of the research.’’.
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1 SEC. 5. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT REGARDING DATA PRO2 DUCED UNDER FEDERAL GRANTS AND

3 AGREEMENTS AWARDED TO INSTITUTIONS

4 OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND

5 OTHER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.

6 The fifth and sixth provisos under the subheading

7 ‘‘SALARIES AND EXPENSES’’ under the heading ‘‘OFFICE

8 OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET’’ under title III of

9 the Treasury and General Government Appropriations

10 Act, 1999 (Public Law 105–277; 112 Stat. 2681–495) are

11 repealed.

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