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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Resources for Technology Transfer
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For additional information, please contact:

Innovative Partnerships Program Office
Code 504
phone: (301) 286-5810
email: Innovative Partnerships Program Office

Reporting New Technologies

+ Electronic New Technology Reporting (eNTRe)
+ What’s In It for You?
+ When to Report New Technology?
+ Why Report Your Invention?
+ Who Should Report New Technologies?
+ How to Get Started
+ More Information

+ Download printable brochure








Electronic New Technology Reporting (eNTRe)



Whether you have an invention or an innovation, a discovery or an improvement, report it at
http://entre.nasa.gov (link opens new browser window)


You may be surprised to know that every year a number of innovations at NASA centers are patented and commercialized. Some of these inventions have been incorporated into common items we use every day. These technologies bring value to the country, prestige to the center, and monetary rewards to the inventors. eNTRe (link opens new browser window) (pronounced entrée) is an easy step-by-step electronic reporting process used by NASA employees and contractors to disclose their inventions and new technologies.










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What’s In It for You?



NASA Goddard’s deputy center director Rick Obenschain presents Dr. Stephanie Getty with the prestigious James Kerley Award at the 2008 New Technology Reporting program for outstanding efforts to support technology transfer.

Innovators play an important role in NASA’s technology transfer and commercialization mission. There are several incentives available to inventors.

Initial Awards

Publication in NASA Tech Briefs magazine (link opens new browser window) for selected new technology reports—$350 per author

Software Release—$500 each multiple contributors/$1000 single contributor

Patent Application—$500 each multiple contributors/$1000 single contributor

Space Act Awards

Based on the value of the contribution, both to NASA and to the public, Space Act Awards in amounts up to $100,000 are available to individual innovators.

These awards are approved by the NASA Inventions and Contributions Board (link opens new browser window). Prime candidates are technologies that have been patented/licensed. your center’s Technology Transfer Office or Patent Office for assistance with completing the required form (NASA Form 1329, “Space Act Award Application”).

Annual “Software of the Year” and “Invention of the Year” Awards are subcategories of these special awards.

Centers may have additional innovator recognition programs in place such as Goddard's prestigious James Kerley Award.

Royalties for Licensed Patents

Royalties paid by licensees of NASA patents are shared with government inventors.


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When to Report New Technology?

Report new inventions, including software, to NASA as soon as possible after conception. There is no need to build or test the innovation prior to reporting, but you must provide a detailed description of the technology. You must report technologies before they are presented publicly at tradeshows and conventions and/or before publishing.



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Why Report Your Invention?



Innovator Jeffrey Hosler and Enidia Santiago-Arce of Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office attended the 2007 R&D 100 Awards ceremony, accepting an award for Goddard’s Adaptive Sensor Fleet technology.

Reporting new technologies is essential to the achievement of NASA’s mission. This reporting process is the means through which advances in aeronautics and space technologies permeate the many sectors of the national economy. At the center level, new technology reporting ensures:

  • Identification of NASA’s valuable technology

  • Commercialization assessment and marketing analysis/assistance

  • Recognition and/or monetary compensation for the innovator

  • Intellectual property protection

  • Compliance with U.S. export control regulations

  • Agency performance reporting requirements

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Who Should Report New Technologies?

NASA employees are REQUIRED to submit a disclosure for each invention resulting from their work as a government employee.

(Authority: NPD 2091.1, “Inventions Made by Government Employees”)

Parties performing experimental, developmental, or research work under NASA funding agreements (including contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements) are REQUIRED to submit new technology reports.

[Authority: Small Businesses, Colleges, Universities, Non-Profit Organizations —Bayh-Dole Act (35 U.S.C. section 202), and Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) clause 52.227-11, Patent Rights Clause/’Subject Inventions’; Large Businesses—Space Act (42 U.S.C. section 2457) and NASA FAR Supplement clause 1852.227–70, New Technology Clause/’Reportable Items’; and 14 CFR Parts 1260 & 1274 (NPG 5800.1 “Grants and Cooperative Agreements Handbook”)]

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How to Get Started

NASA Form 1679, “Disclosure of Invention and New Technology, including Software,” should be submitted online through eNTRe. To begin, go straight to the eNTRe login at http://invention.nasa.gov/ (link opens new browser window). A full explanation of when to report, how to report, and who is involved in the process, is outlined.

Submitting your disclosure is as easy as 1–2–3 using eNTRe’s step-by-step process:

  1. Click http://invention.nasa.gov/ (link opens new browser window)

  2. Complete online NASA Form 1679

  3. Submit!


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More Information

For more information about New Technology Reporting for civil service and contractor employees, contact one of your center representatives.

For a listing of all NASA center representatives, visit http://invention.nasa.gov/poc.html (link opens new browser window)

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