data, data bases, data base retrieval programs or
other programs which directly support the dissemi-
nation of Government information; and
‘‘(6) the term ‘Author’ includes a Federal offi-
cer or employee who has prepared a copyrighted
work as part of that person’s official duties as a
work made for hire and any person who has as-
signed his or her rights in a copyright to the United
States.’’;
(8) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(h) COPYRIGHT OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS.—Each
Federal agency may claim copyright on behalf of the Unit-
ed States as owner in any computer program prepared by
employees of the United States Government in the course
of work under, or related to, a cooperative research and
development agreement entered into under the authority
of subsection (a)(1) of this section, or under any other
equivalent authority and may grant or agree to grant in
advance to a collaborating party, licenses or assignments
for such copyrights, or options thereto, retaining a
nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license
to exercise all rights under any copyright for computer
program throughout the world by or on behalf of the Gov-
ernment and such other rights as the Federal agency
deems appropriate; provided in agreements having as a
primary purpose the research, development or utilization
of products or services for the commercial market, agen-
cies may limit the retained Government license under any
copyright for a computer program, reserving, however, at
a minimum, the paid-up, worldwide right in the Govern-
ment to reproduce, prepare derivative works, and to dis-
tribute to other United States agencies and their contrac-
tors for government purposes.’’.
(b) DISTRIBUTION
OF ROYALTIES RECEIVED
BY
FEDERAL
AGENCIES.—Section 14 of the Stevenson-
Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C.
3710c) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 1354. DISTRIBUTION OF ROYALTIES RECEIVED BY
FEDERAL AGENCIES.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Except as provided in para-
graphs (2) and (4), royalties or other income received by
a Federal agency from the licensing or assignment of in-
ventions or copyrights under agreements entered into by
Government-operated Federal laboratories under section
12 of this Act, and inventions or copyrights of Govern-
ment-operated Federal laboratories licensed under section
207 of title 35, United States Code, or under any other
provision of law, shall be retained by the agency whose
laboratory produced the invention or copyrighted work and
shall be disposed of as follows:
‘‘(A)(i) The head of the agency shall pay at
least 15 percent of the royalties or other income the
agency receives on account of any invention or copy-
right to the inventor or the author (or co-inventors
or co-authors) if the inventor or author (or each
such co-inventor or co-author) has assigned his or
her rights in the invention or copyrighted work to
the United States or, in the case of a copyrighted
work, if the work was made for hire by an officer
or employee of the United States Government.
‘‘(ii) An agency may promulgate, in accordance
with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, reg-
ulations providing for an alternative program for
sharing royalties with inventors or authors under
clause (i). Such regulations must—
‘‘(I) guarantee a fixed minimum payment
to each such inventor or author each year that
the agency receives royalties from that inven-
tor’s invention or author’s copyrighted work;
‘‘(II) provide a percentage royalty share to
each such inventor or author, each year that
the agency receives royalties from that inven-
tor’s invention or author’s copyrighted work in
excess of a threshold amount;
‘‘(III) provide that total payments to all
such inventors or authors shall equal at least
15 percent of total agency royalties in any given
fiscal year; and
‘‘(IV) provide appropriate incentives from
royalties for those laboratory employees who
contribute substantially to the technical devel-
opment of a licensed invention or copyrighted
work between the time of the filing of the pat-
ent application and the licensing of the inven-
tion or copyrighted work.
‘‘(iii) An agency that has published its intention
to promulgate regulations under clause (ii) may elect
not to pay inventors or authors under clause (i) until
the expiration of two years after October 20, 1986,
or until the date of the promulgation of such regula-
tions, whichever is earlier. If an agency makes such
an election and after two years the regulations have
not been promulgated, the agency shall make pay-
ments (in accordance with clause (i)) of at least 15
percent of the royalties involved, retroactive to Octo-
ber 20, 1986. If promulgation of the regulations oc-
curs within two years after October 20, 1986, pay-
ments shall be made in accordance with such regula-
tions, retroactive to October 20, 1986. The agency
shall retain its royalties until the inventor’s or au-
thor’s portion is paid under either clause (i) or (ii).
Such royalties shall not be transferred to the agen-
cy’s Government-operated laboratories under sub-
paragraph (B) and shall not revert to the Treasury
pursuant to paragraph (2) as a result of any delay
caused by rule making under this subparagraph.
‘‘(B) The balance of the royalties or other in-
come shall be transferred by the agency to its Gov-
ernment-operated laboratories, with the majority
share of the royalties or other income from any in-
vention or copyright going to the laboratory where
the invention occurred or copyrighted work was pre-
pared; and the funds so transferred to any such lab-
oratory may be used or obligated by that laboratory
during the fiscal year in which they are received or
during the succeeding fiscal year—
‘‘(i) for payment of expenses incidental to the
administration and licensing of inventions or copy-
rights by that laboratory or by the agency with re-
spect to inventions which occurred or copyrighted
work prepared at that laboratory, including the fees
or other costs for the services of other agencies, per-
sons, or organizations for invention or copyright
management and licensing services;
‘‘(ii) to reward scientific, engineering, and tech-
nical employees of that laboratory, including pay-
ments to inventors and developers of sensitive or
classified technology, regardless of whether the tech-
nology has commercial applications; and
‘‘(iii) to further scientific exchange among the
Government-operated laboratories of the agency; or
‘‘(iv) for education and training of employees
consistent with the research and development mis-
sion and objectives of the agency, and for other ac-
tivities that increase the licensing potential for
transfer of the technology of the laboratories of the
agency. Any of such funds not so sued or obligated
by the end of the fiscal year succeeding the fiscal
year in which they are received shall be paid into the
Treasury of the United States.
‘‘(2) If, after payments to inventors or authors under
paragraph (1), the royalties received by an agency in any
fiscal year exceed 5 percent of the budget of the Govern-
ment-operated laboratories of the agency for that year, 75
percent of such excess shall be paid to the Treasury of
the United States and the remaining 25 percent may be
used or obligated for the purposes described in clauses (i)
and (ii) of paragraph (1)(B) during that fiscal year or the
succeeding fiscal year. Any funds not so obligated shall
be paid into the Treasury of the United States.
‘‘(3) Any payment made to an employee under this
section shall be in addition to the regular pay of the em-
ployee and to any other awards made to the employee, and
shall not affect the entitlement of the employee to any reg-
ular pay, annuity, or award to which he is otherwise enti-
tled or for which he is otherwise eligible or limit the
amount thereof. Any payment made to an inventor or au-
thor as such shall continue after the inventor or author
leaves the laboratory or agency. Payments made under
this section shall not exceed $100,000 per year to any one
person, unless the President approves a larger award (with
the excess over $100,000 being treated as a Presidential
award under section 4504 of title 5, United States Code).
‘‘(4) A Federal agency receiving royalties or other in-
come as a result of invention, or copyright, management
services performed for another Federal agency or labora-
tory under section 207 of title 35, United States Code,
may retain such royalties or income to the extent required
to offset the payment of royalties to inventors or authors
under clause (i) of paragraph (1)(A), costs and expenses
incurred under clause (i) of paragraph (1)(B), and the
cost of foreign patenting or copyrighting and maintenance
for any invention or copyright of the other agency. All roy-
alties and other income remaining after payment of the
royalties, costs, and expenses described in the preceding
sentence shall be transferred to the agency for which the
services were performed, for distribution in accordance
with clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1)(B).
‘‘(b) CERTAIN ASSIGNMENTS.—If the invention or
copyright involved was one assigned to the Federal agen-
cy—
‘‘(1) by a contractor, grantee, or participant in
a cooperative agreement with the agency; or
‘‘(2) by an employee of the agency who was not
working in the laboratory at the time the invention
was made or copyrightable work prepared, the agen-
cy unit that was involved in such assignment shall
be considered to be a laboratory for purposes of this
section.
‘‘(c) REPORTS.—In making their annual budget sub-
missions Federal agencies shall submit, to the appropriate
authorization and appropriation committees of both
Houses of Congress, summaries of the amount of royalties
or other income received and expenditures made (including
inventor or author awards) under this section.’’.
SEC. 6102. EMPLOYEE ACTIVITIES.
Section 15 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno-
vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710d) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as
subsections (c) and (d) respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the follow-
ing new subsection:
‘‘(b) RIGHTS TO COMPUTER PROGRAMS PREPARED
BY GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—(1) A computer program
prepared by an officer or employee of the United State
Government as part of that person’s official duties shall
be a ‘work made for hire’ as defined in subparagraph (1)
of section 101 of title 17, United States Code, and the
United States Government shall obtain all rights, title,
and interest therein as ‘author’ in accordance with section
201(b) of title 17, United States Code, unless otherwise
provided in paragraph (2).
‘‘(2) If a Federal agency has the right of ownership
to a computer program for which the agency does not in-
tend to copyright or otherwise promote the commercializa-
tion of such computer program, the agency may agree to
allow the author to acquire title to copyright, subject to
the reservation of a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrev-
ocable, paid-up license to exercise all rights under the
copyright by or on behalf of the Government throughout
the world, as such other reservations deemed necessary to
assure distribution and utilization of the computer pro-
gram.’’.
SEC. 6103. EXCEPTION TO PROHIBITION ON COPYRIGHT
PROTECTION FOR WORKS OF THE UNITED
STATES GOVERNMENT.
Section 105 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 105. Subject matter of copyright: United States
Government works
‘‘Copyright protection under this title is not available
for any work of the United States Government, except as
provided in section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler Tech-
nology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a), but the
United States is not precluded from receiving and holding
copyrights transferred to it by assignment, bequest, or
otherwise.’’.
SEC. 6104. PATENT RIGHTS IN INVENTIONS MADE WITH
FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.
Subsection 202(c) of title 35, United States Code, is
amended by amending paragraphs (2) and (3) to read as
follows:
‘‘(2) That the contractor make a written elec-
tion within two years after disclosure to the Federal
agency (or such additional time as may be approved
by the Federal agency) whether to retain title to a
subject invention in the United States and in any
foreign countries; provided, that, if a contractor
elects to retain title in the United States, the elec-
tion to retain title in any foreign country may be de-
layed until six months after filing the United States
patent application; and provided further, that, in
any case where publication, or sale, or public use has
initiated the one year statutory period within which
a patent application must be filed in the United
States, the period for election may be shortened by
the Federal agency to a date that is not more than
four months prior to the end of the statutory period;
and that the Federal Government may, after notice
to the contractor, receive title to any subject inven-
tion in which the contractor does not elect to retain
title.
‘‘(3) That a contractor agrees to file a patent
application on a subject invention in—
‘‘(A) the United States within one year
after the written election to retain title in the
United States (or such additional time as may
be approved by the Federal agency), but, in any
event, prior to any statutory bar, and that the
Federal Government may, after notice to the
contractor, receive title to any subject invention
on which a patent application has not been filed
within the above required time period; and
‘‘(B) each elected foreign country, or to file
an international application, within four months
after the written election to retain title in the
foreign country, but, in any event, prior to any
bar due to publication, public use or sale of the
invention, (or such additional time as may be
approved by the Federal agency), and that the
Federal Government may, after notice to the
contractor, receive title to any subject invention
on which a foreign patent or international ap-
plication has not been filed within the above re-
quired time period.’’.
TITLE VII—SMALL BUSINESS AND
SOCIOECONOMIC LAWS
Subtitle A—Small Business Laws
SEC. 7001. DIRECT CONTRACTING WITH SECTION 8(A) COM-
PANIES.
Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
637(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the
following new subparagraph:
‘‘(E) to delegate to any department, agen-
cy, or officer thereof having procurement pow-