Department of the Interior
Departmental Manual
Effective Date: 10/20/71
Series: Legal
Part 453: Inventions and Patents
Chapter 3: Licenses
Originating Office: Office of the Solicitor
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This chapter has been given a new release number.* No text changes were made. |
453 DM 3
3.1 Policy. Every pending and patented invention owned by the Government and general licensing interest on behalf of the Government and administered by the Department upon application may be licensed for commercial and other use. As a primary aim of the Department is to encourage public use of its research results, except as determined by the Solicitor licenses issued by the Department shall be nonexclusive, nontransferable, and generally royalty-free. Following the policy established in Section 2 of the President=s Statement, exclusive licenses may be granted in appropriate cases where necessary to stimulate private financial interest in an otherwise unutilized invention. To promote the widest possible utilization of Department administered inventions, the Bureaus and Offices are encouraged to list in all appropriate publications the patents that are related to their specialized fields and available for licensing through the Department.
3.2 Procedure. The terms of licenses and the application procedure shall be prescribed by the Solicitor and published in the Code of Federal Regulations. Bureaus and Offices directly interested in a patent or invention involved in an application for a license shall be consulted by the Solicitor in determining whether a license is granted.
3.3 Evaluation Committee. At the request of the Solicitor, the Secretary will appoint an Evaluation Committee to recommend royalty rates if the Solicitor determines that royalties should be charged for use of a patent or invention.
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10/20/71 #3473
Replaces 10/20/71 #1347