Content Last Revised: 3/16/00 ---DISCLAIMER---

29 CFR 95.36 - Intangible property.

• Section Number: 95.36
• Section Name: Intangible property.

    (a) The recipient may copyright any work that is subject to 
copyright and was developed, or for which ownership was purchased, under 
an award. DOL reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive and irrevocable 
right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for
Federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so.
    (b) Recipients are subject to applicable regulations governing 
patents and inventions, including government-wide regulations issued by 
the Department of Commerce at 37 CFR part 401, ``Rights to Inventions 
Made by Nonprofit Organizations and Small Business Firms Under 
Government Grants, Contracts and Cooperative Agreements.''
    (c) DOL has the right to:
    (1) Obtain, reproduce, publish or otherwise use the data first 
produced under an award; and
    (2) Authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish, or otherwise 
use such data for Federal purposes.
    (d) (1) In addition, in response to a Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA) request for research data relating to published research 
findings produced under an award that were used by the Federal 
Government in developing an agency action that has the force and effect 
of law, the DOL shall request, and the recipient 
shall provide, within a reasonable time, the research data so that they 
can be made available to the public through the procedures established 
under the FOIA. If the DOL obtains the research 
data solely in response to a FOIA request, the agency may charge the 
requester a reasonable fee equaling the full incremental cost of 
obtaining the research data. This fee should reflect costs incurred by 
the agency, the recipient, and applicable subrecipients. This fee is in 
addition to any fees the agency may assess under the FOIA (5 U.S.C. 
552(a)(4)(A)).
    (2) The following definitions apply for purposes of this paragraph 
(d):
    (i) Research data is defined as the recorded factual material 
commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate 
research findings, but not any of the following: preliminary analyses, 
drafts of scientific papers, plans for future research, peer reviews, 
or communications with colleagues. This ``recorded'' material excludes 
physical objects (e.g., laboratory samples). Research data also do not 
include:
    (A) Trade secrets, commercial information, materials necessary to 
be held confidential by a researcher until they are published, or 
similar information which is protected under law; and
    (B) Personnel and medical information and similar information the 
disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of 
personal privacy, such as information that could be used to identify a 
particular person in a research study.
    (ii) Published is defined as either when:
    (A) Research findings are published in a peer-reviewed scientific 
or technical journal; or
    (B) A Federal agency publicly and officially cites the research 
findings in support of an agency action that has the force and effect 
of law.
    (iii) Used by the Federal Government in developing an agency action 
that has the force and effect of law is defined as when an agency 
publicly and officially cites the research findings in support of an 
agency action that has the force and effect of law..
    (e) Title to intangible property and debt instruments acquired under 
an award or subaward vests upon acquisition in the recipient. The 
recipient shall use that property for the originally-authorized purpose, 
and the recipient shall not encumber the property without written 
approval of the grant officer. When no longer needed for the originally 
authorized purpose, disposition of the intangible property shall occur 
in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 95.34(g).

[59 FR 38271, July 27, 1994 as amended by 65 FR 14405, Mar. 16, 2000]