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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 278n. Advanced Technology Program
(a) Establishment; purpose; focus; guidance
There is established in the Institute an Advanced Technology
Program (hereafter in this chapter referred to as the "Program")
for the purpose of assisting United States businesses in creating
and applying the generic technology and research results necessary
to -
(1) commercialize significant new scientific discoveries and
technologies rapidly; and
(2) refine manufacturing technologies.
The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall assure that the
Program focuses on improving the competitive position of the United
States and its businesses, gives preference to discoveries and to
technologies that have great economic potential, and avoids
providing undue advantage to specific companies. In operating the
Program, the Secretary and Director shall, as appropriate, be
guided by the findings and recommendations of the Biennial National
Critical Technology Reports prepared pursuant to section 6683 (!1)
of title 42.
(b) Authority of Secretary; research and development; contracts and
cooperative agreements; Federal laboratories; other activities
with joint ventures
Under the Program established in subsection (a) of this section,
and consistent with the mission and policies of the Institute, the
Secretary, acting through the Director, and subject to subsections
(c) and (d) of this section, may -
(1) aid industry-led United States joint research and
development ventures (hereafter in this section referred to as
"joint ventures") (which may also include universities and
independent research organizations), including those involving
collaborative technology demonstration projects which develop and
test prototype equipment and processes, through -
(A) provision of organizational and technical advice; and
(B) participation in such joint ventures by means of grants,
cooperative agreements, or contracts, if the Secretary, acting
through the Director, determines participation to be
appropriate, which may include (i) partial start-up funding,
(ii) provision of a minority share of the cost of such joint
ventures for up to 5 years, and (iii) making available
equipment, facilities, and personnel,
provided that emphasis is placed on areas where the Institute has
scientific or technological expertise, on solving generic
problems of specific industries, and on making those industries
more competitive in world markets;
(2) provide grants to and enter into contracts and cooperative
agreements with United States businesses (especially small
businesses), provided that emphasis is placed on applying the
Institute's research, research techniques, and expertise to those
organizations' research programs;
(3) involve the Federal laboratories in the Program, where
appropriate, using among other authorities the cooperative
research and development agreements provided for under section
3710a of this title; and
(4) carry out, in a manner consistent with the provisions of
this section, such other cooperative research activities with
joint ventures as may be authorized by law or assigned to the
Program by the Secretary.
(c) Authority of Secretary; selection criteria; monitoring use of
technologies; overseas transfer; annual report to Congress;
financial reporting and auditing; routine consideration of
Committee advice; dissemination of research results
The Secretary, acting through the Director, is authorized to take
all actions necessary and appropriate to establish and operate the
Program, including -
(1) publishing in the Federal Register draft criteria and, no
later than six months after August 23, 1988, following a public
comment period, final criteria, for the selection of recipients
of assistance under subsection (b)(1) and (2) of this section;
(2) monitoring how technologies developed in its research
program are used, and reporting annually to the Congress on the
extent of any overseas transfer of these technologies;
(3) establishing procedures regarding financial reporting and
auditing to ensure that contracts and awards are used for the
purposes specified in this section, are in accordance with sound
accounting practices, and are not funding existing or planned
research programs that would be conducted in the same time period
in the absence of financial assistance under the Program;
(4) assuring that the advice of the Committee established under
section 278 of this title is considered routinely in carrying out
the responsibilities of the Institute; and
(5) providing for appropriate dissemination of Program research
results.
(d) Contracts or awards; criteria; restrictions
When entering into contracts or making awards under subsection
(b) of this section, the following shall apply:
(1) No contract or award may be made until the research project
in question has been subject to a merit review, and has, in the
opinion of the reviewers appointed by the Director and the
Secretary, acting through the Director, been shown to have
scientific and technical merit.
(2) In the case of joint ventures, the Program shall not make
an award unless the award will facilitate the formation of a
joint venture or the initiation of a new research and development
project by an existing joint venture.
(3) No Federal contract or cooperative agreement under
subsection (b)(2) of this section shall exceed $2,000,000 over 3
years, or be for more than 3 years unless a full and complete
explanation of such proposed award, including reasons for
exceeding these limits, is submitted in writing by the Secretary
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the
House of Representatives. The proposed contract or cooperative
agreement may be executed only after 30 calendar days on which
both Houses of Congress are in session have elapsed since such
submission. Federal funds made available under subsection (b)(2)
of this section shall be used only for direct costs and not for
indirect costs, profits, or management fees of the contractor.
(4) In determining whether to make an award to a particular
joint venture, the Program shall consider whether the members of
the joint venture have made provisions for the appropriate
participation of small United States businesses in such joint
venture.
(5) Section 552 of title 5 shall not apply to the following
information obtained by the Federal Government on a confidential
basis in connection with the activities of any business or any
joint venture receiving funding under the Program -
(A) information on the business operation of any member of
the business or joint venture; and
(B) trade secrets possessed by any business or any member of
the joint venture.
(6) Intellectual property owned and developed by any business
or joint venture receiving funding or by any member of such a
joint venture may not be disclosed by any officer or employee of
the Federal Government except in accordance with a written
agreement between the owner or developer and the Program.
(7) If a business or joint venture fails before the completion
of the period for which a contract or award has been made, after
all allowable costs have been paid and appropriate audits
conducted, the unspent balance of the Federal funds shall be
returned by the recipient to the Program.
(8) Upon dissolution of any joint venture or at the time
otherwise agreed upon, the Federal Government shall be entitled
to a share of the residual assets of the joint venture
proportional to the Federal share of the costs of the joint
venture as determined by independent audit.
(9) A company shall be eligible to receive financial assistance
under this section only if -
(A) the Secretary finds that the company's participation in
the Program would be in the economic interest of the United
States, as evidenced by investments in the United States in
research, development, and manufacturing (including, for
example, the manufacture of major components or subassemblies
in the United States); significant contributions to employment
in the United States; and agreement with respect to any
technology arising from assistance provided under this section
to promote the manufacture within the United States of products
resulting from that technology (taking into account the goals
of promoting the competitiveness of United States industry),
and to procure parts and materials from competitive suppliers;
and
(B) either -
(i) the company is a United States-owned company; or
(ii) the Secretary finds that the company is incorporated
in the United States and has a parent company which is
incorporated in a country which affords to United
States-owned companies opportunities, comparable to those
afforded to any other company, to participate in any joint
venture similar to those authorized under this chapter;
affords to United States-owned companies local investment
opportunities comparable to those afforded to any other
company; and affords adequate and effective protection for
the intellectual property rights of United States-owned
companies.
(10) Grants, contracts, and cooperative assignments under this
section shall be designed to support projects which are high risk
and which have the potential for eventual substantial widespread
commercial application. In order to receive a grant, contract, or
cooperative agreement under this section, a research and
development entity shall demonstrate to the Secretary the
requisite ability in research and technology development and
management in the project area in which the grant, contract, or
cooperative agreement is being sought.
(11)(A) Title to any intellectual property arising from
assistance provided under this section shall vest in a company or
companies incorporated in the United States. The United States
may reserve a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable paid-up
license, to have practiced for or on behalf of the United States,
in connection with any such intellectual property, but shall not,
in the exercise of such license, publicly disclose proprietary
information related to the license. Title to any such
intellectual property shall not be transferred or passed, except
to a company incorporated in the United States, until the
expiration of the first patent obtained in connection with such
intellectual property.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term "intellectual
property" means an invention patentable under title 35 or any
patent on such an invention.
(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit
the licensing to any company of intellectual property rights
arising from assistance provided under this section.
(e) Suspension for failure to satisfy eligibility criteria
The Secretary may, within 30 days after notice to Congress,
suspend a company or joint venture from continued assistance under
this section if the Secretary determines that the company, the
country of incorporation of the company or a parent company, or the
joint venture has failed to satisfy any of the criteria set forth
in subsection (d)(9) of this section, and that it is in the
national interest of the United States to do so.
(f) Coordination with other Federal technology programs
When reviewing private sector requests for awards under the
Program, and when monitoring the progress of assisted research
projects, the Secretary and the Director shall, as appropriate,
coordinate with the Secretary of Defense and other senior Federal
officials to ensure cooperation and coordination in Federal
technology programs and to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.
The Secretary and the Director are authorized to work with the
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the
Secretary of Defense, and other appropriate Federal officials to
form interagency working groups or special project offices to
coordinate Federal technology activities.
(g) Meetings with industry sources
In order to analyze the need for the value of joint ventures and
other research projects in specific technical fields, to evaluate
any proposal made by a joint venture or company requesting the
Secretary's assistance, or to monitor the progress of any joint
venture or any company research project which receives Federal
funds under the Program, the Secretary, the Under Secretary of
Commerce for Technology, and the Director may, notwithstanding any
other provision of law, meet with such industry sources as they
consider useful and appropriate.
(h) Standards development
Up to 10 percent of the funds appropriated for carrying out this
section may be used for standards development and technical
activities by the Institute in support of the purposes of this
section.
(i) Acceptance of funds from other Federal departments and agencies
In addition to such sums as may be authorized and appropriated to
the Secretary and Director to operate the Program, the Secretary
and Director also may accept funds from other Federal departments
and agencies for the purpose of providing Federal funds to support
awards under the Program. Any Program award which is supported with
funds which originally came from other Federal departments and
agencies shall be selected and carried out according to the
provisions of this section.
(j) Definitions
As used in this section -
(1) the term "joint venture" means any group of activities,
including attempting to make, making, or performing a contract,
by two or more persons for the purpose of -
(A) theoretical analysis, experimentation, or systematic
study of phenomena or observable facts;
(B) the development or testing of basic engineering
techniques;
(C) the extension of investigative finding or theory of a
scientific or technical nature into practical application for
experimental and demonstration purposes, including the
experimental production and testing of models, prototypes,
equipment, materials, and processes;
(D) the collection, exchange, and analysis of research
information;
(E) the production of any product, process, or service; or
(F) any combination of the purposes specified in
subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E),
and may include the establishment and operation of facilities for
the conducting of research, the conducting of such venture on a
protected and proprietary basis, and the prosecuting of
applications for patents and the granting of licenses for the
results of such venture; and
(2) the term "United States-owned company" means a company that
has majority ownership or control by individuals who are citizens
of the United States.
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