Office of Acquisition Management and Policy

Division of Acquisition Policy
Inventory of FAR and HHSAR Class Deviations

1. National Academy of Sciences

Exemption from the Rights in Data Clause - NAS has the following class deviation which modifies FAR 52.227-14, Rights in Data, General. It states:

Minutes, working papers, vote tallies, transcripts and other records of the deliberations of Academy committees are considered privileged by the contractor. The Government recognizes that this principle encourages full and free discussions at such meetings and that such frankness and openness is consistent with and beneficial to the national interest. Accordingly, the Government agrees that such material will not be ordered unilaterally by the Government.

The class deviation was approved April 15, 1994. This class deviation is permanent.

2. Patent Rights and Rights in Data

1. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on October 8, 1997, has been granted a class deviation from FAR 52-227-17(e), Rights in Data - Special Works, which requires the contractor to indemnify the Government against any liability incurred as a result of the violation of trade secrets, copyrights, or right of privacy or publicity, arising out of the creation, delivery, publication, or use of any data furnished under the contract. The class deviation was authorized for those situations where acceptance of that provision would violate prohibitions contained in the state constitution of the contractors. This class deviation applies to all future NCI contracts which have similar circumstances.
   
   
2. OPDIVs are authorized, in accordance with FAR 27.405, Rights in data - Special Works, subparagraph (a) (5), to modify the clause. The subsection states:
   
   

   (5) When the audiovisual or other special works are produced to accomplish a public purpose other than acquisition for the Government's own use (such as for production and distribution to the public of such works by other than a Federal agency) agencies are authorized to modify the Rights in Data - Special Works clause for use in such contracts, with rights in data provisions which meet agency mission needs yet protect free speech and freedom of expression, as well as the artistic license of the creator of the work.

   This is a permanent authorization.
   
   
3. Contract awards for chemical synthesis and process development activities related to drug discovery and development within the National Institute of Mental Health's (NIMH) Drug Discovery and Development Programs, Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science, have a class deviation from FAR 52.227-11, Patent Rights - Retention by the Contractor (Short Form) (June 1997). The class deviation, which was approved on October 7, 2003, remains in effect until September 29, 2008.
   
   
4. Contracts arising from the National Institute of Drug Abuse's (NIDA) Medications Development Division that require contractors to perform confidential screening, pharmacokinetic, pharmaceutic, and product development services, have class deviations from FAR 52.227-11, Patent Rights, and FAR 52.227-17, Rights-in-Data - Special Works. The class deviations, which were approved on October 11, 1999, are permanent.
   
   
5. Contracts arising from the National Institute of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease (NIAMS), solicitation numbers NIH-NIAMS-02-02, Data Coordination Centers for Osteoarthritis Initiative and NIH-NIAMS-02-03, Clinical Centers for the Osteoarthritis Initiative, have a class deviation from FAR 52.227-11, Patent Rights. The class deviation was issued September 6, 2002, and is approved for the duration of the contracts, expected to be five to seven years.

3. Contracts with Harvard University

The Department endorses the following clause in conjunction with FAR 52.243-2, Changes:

It is hereby agreed that all modifications to the contract will be agreed upon bilaterally. As a contractual procedure, the Changes clause may be invoked unilaterally by the Government to effect such modifications when a national medical emergency requires immediate implementation of the modifications.

The endorsement was given in May 1989, and is permanent.

4. SF 1420 and SF 1421, Performance Evaluation (Construction and Architect-Engineer)

A class deviation has been approved, effective February 14, 2001, in accordance with CAAC Letter 2001-03, dated October 17, 2001, for the National Institutes of Health to use the NIH Contractor Performance Insert Form (Construction) in lieu of the SF-1420 and SF-1421. This a permanent deviation for the present version of the form and for all future versions as may be approved by the Contractor Performance System Users Group.

5. Exemptions from the Service Contract Act (SCA) for Subcontracts for Commercial Items