RECOMMENDATION 8. Give 8. Give the United the United States States District Courts concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of Claims for suits brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1498 subject to the jurisdictional amount under the Tucker Act. (A) Action Taken The Executive Branch rejected the recommendation. The reasons for rejecting the recommendation are set forth in APPENDIX E. While the Executive Branch adopted the recommendation, the Technical Data Working Group is to implement Recommendation 9 only after it has developed a policy position with respect to Recommendations 10 and 12. RECOMMENDATION 10. Undertake, through the Federal Coun cil for Science and Technology in coordination with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, to develop and evaluate the implementation of a statement of Government policy on rights in technical data supplied under Government contracts. Give specific consideration to the relationships. between prime contractors and subcontractors. (A) Action Taken The Technical Data Working Group has drafted a policy statement intended to implement Recommendation 10. The statement has been submitted to the Executive Subcommittee for its consideration. (B) Action Necessary After a final statement is developed and approved by the Committee and adopted by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, it is to be issued by the Executive Branch as the Federal policy regarding rights in data supplied under contract. RECOMMENDATION 11. Authorize agencies to acquire information and data. (A) Action Taken The Commission recommended statutory language to provide all agencies with the authority to purchase interests in patents, data, and copyrights, and to settle claims for infringing such interests, which is preferable to piecemeal implementation of the Recommendation. Such legislation was believed necessary primarily because of the need to purchase the patent interests and to settle infringement claims concerning patents, rather than to purchase interests in data and copyrights and to settle infringement claims involving data and copyrights. The Legislation Working Group noted that the need to obtain authority for the purchase of data and copyrights and to settle infringement claims involving data and copyrights should be reassessed after a final decision is rendered by the Court of Claims regarding certain provisions of the Royalty Adjustment Act of October 31, 1942. (B) Action Necessary The Legislation Working Group is to reassess the need for legislation in view of the decision of the Court of Claims, Intertional Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, et al vs. United States, et al, 536 Fed. 2d 1361, 191 USPQ 739, rendered on June 16, 1976, which held that the Royalty Adjustment Act had not lapsed. RECOMMENDATION 12. Undertake, through the Federal Council for Science and Technology in coordination with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, to develop and evaluate the implementation of a statement of Government policy on the treatment of data submitted with proposals or other related communications. (A) Action Taken The Technical Data Working Group submitted to the Executive Subcommittee a proposed statement of Federal policy on the treatment of information and data contained in proposals received in confidence. The concise statement, intended to implement Recommendation 12, suggests a policy that will complement the FPR and other regulations, covers both solicited and unsolicited proposals, and is not limited to technical data. (B) Action Necessary After a final statement is developed and approved by the Committee and adopted by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, it is to be issued by the Executive Branch as the Federal policy regarding the treatment of information and data contained in proposals submitted for the purpose of obtaining a Federal contract. RECOMMENDATION 13. Establish a remedy for the misuse of information supplied to the Government in confidence. (A) Action Taken None (B) Action Necessary While the Executive Branch adopted the recommendation, the Technical Data Working Group is to implement Recommendation 13 only after it has developed a policy position with respect to Recommendations 10 and 12. RECOMMENDATION 14. Amend or repeal statutes limiting agency flexibility in dealing with the publication of works developed under Government contracts. (A) Action Taken None (B) Action Necessary The Copyright Working Group is to implement this recommendation after a final policy position has been rendered with respect to Recommendation 16. RECOMMENDATION 15. Enact legislation giving all agencies authority to acquire private copyrights or interests therein. (A) Action Taken None (B) Action Necessary The Legislation Working Group is to implement this recommendation after a final policy position has been rendered with respect to Recommendation 16. RECOMMENDATION 16. Establish an interagency task force (A) Action Taken under lead of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to develop and evaluate the implementation of a statement of Government copyright policy. The Copyright Working Group forwarded to the Executive Subcommittee for its consideration a proposed statement on Federal copyright policy. The statement, intended to implement Recommendation 16, sets forth Federal policies in selected areas of copyright and publication activities of common concern to most Federal agencies. The statement outlines alternatives in many areas noting that a single policy is not always appropriate, and provides guidance to agencies having a need to formulate policies in other areas. (B) Action Necessary After a final statement is developed and approved by the Committee and adopted by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, it is to be issued by the Executive Branch as the Federal policy regarding matters concerned with copyright and publication activities. PART III-PROGRESS UNDER THE PRESIDENTIAL POLICY As already mentioned, the Committee on Government Patent Policy was established initially by the Federal Council to assess how the 1963 Memorandum and Statement of Government Patent Policy had worked in practice. The prime impetus for establishing the Committee was that the Executive Branch was being asked for its position on a uniform Federal patent policy, and the Committee, comprised of policy level officials, provided a forum for developing such a position. The 1971 Presidential Memorandum and Statement, which incorporated revisions to the 1963 Statement suggested by the Committee and approved by the Federal Council, endorsed a continuation of the Committee which was to assist the Federal Council in making a continuing effort to record, monitor and evaluate the effects of the 1971 Presidential Memorandum. The Committee on Government Patent Policy functions and is organized through a subcommittee system of specially selected personnel comprising policy-level officials and patent professionals from the various agencies of the Government who have the greatest expertise in the patent problems to be solved or policy issues to be resolved, and are responsible for the policies and patent operations of essentially every department and agency in the Federal Government. A membership list of the Committee appears on the back cover of this report. The membership lists of its Executive Subcommittee, and the various operating subcommittees, is provided in APPENDIX F. Historically, the Committee has been chaired by the Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Commerce. The Executive Secretary of the Committee provides full secretariat functions to the Committee and its subcommittees, and is the prime central point of contact for coordinating all of their activities. A brief resume of the activities of the subcommittees during the reporting period is set forth below: A. Executive Subcommittee The Executive Subcommittee, comprised primarily of the patent counsels of the Federal agencies represented on the Committee, is the planning-steering group of the Committee. Its responsibilities include the establishment, planning and coordination of the activities of the various subcommittees utilizing the talents. and resources of the personnel of the various agencies. Special studies are conducted, either by the other three standing subcommittees or by task groups or ad hoc subcommittees established by the Executive Subcommittee on an as-needed basis. After review and consideration by the Executive Subcommittee, their findings and conclusions are presented to the Committee and or the Federal Council for resolution. The following reports are products of three such groups: 1. Background Patent Rights Report In an attempt to arrive at a more uniform Federal policy regarding the acquisition of rights to a contractor's privately acquired patent position under an R&D contract, the Executive |