The Board further expressly finds that the contract meets the criteria of Section 1245.106(c)(1), (which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference), which Section encompasses the criteria of Section 1245.104(a), subsections (1) through (4), (which are also hereby expressly incorporated by reference). The reasons for the Board's findings are stated below, corresponding in each case to the respective criterion set forth in each subsection.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(1). A principal purpose of the contract is to develop a communications and data subsystem for the Apollo Space Program. The work to be performed under the contract involves radio communications systems; inventions may therefore be developed in the performance of the work that may have commercial utility; such utility, however, would be only incidental to the purpose of the contract. Since the work to be performed under the contract involves space communications, inventions likely to arise out of the contract would not be required by governmental regulations for public use.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(2). The work to be performed under the contract relates to the development of a space communications and data subsystem for the Apollo Space Program. This work will not require exploration into fields that directly concern the public health or public welfare.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(3). The contract is in the field of technology of radio communications sytems. Private industry has acquired considerable and significant experience in this field outside of work funded by the Government. The contractor, Collins Radio Company, and others, such as RCA and GE, have for several years been in the business of manufacturing and selling such systems and components therefor. Numerous patents have been issued on behalf of the contractor and others engaged in radio communications systems research and de

velopment, so that the acquisition of exclusive rights to inventions at the time of contracting would not confer on the contractor a preferred or dominant position. SECTION 1245.104(a)(4). The contractor is required to provide the necessary personnel, facilities, equipment, and materials for the development of a space communications system. Any supervision of specific operations, such as final testing at a Government installation, is only incidental to the contract. The contractor is not providing a service for coordinating and directing the work of others; the relationship between the contractor and its subcontractors is limited to the necessary administration of its subcontracts.

Moreover, the Board expressly finds, as required by Section 1245.106(c)(1), that waiver of title would be an effective incentive to bring the invention to the point of practical application at the earliest practicable date. The present invention, an electrical switch, is of a type that is already commercially available; therefore, some assurance is needed by the contractor to recoup the capital outlay required for further development and commercialization of the invention; waiver of title would provide this assurance. The contractor has demonstrated its capability to develop and commercialize the invention further by showing that it is a manufacturer of a large volume of commercial equipment, such as ham-radio equipment, flight control systems, and communications systems, and that it has established commercial markets for the sale of its products.

On the basis of all the above-enumerated findings, the Inventions and Contributions Board concludes that the interests of the United States would best be served by waiving title under Section 1245.106 of the NASA Patent Waiver Regulations of August 27, 1964, and therefore RECOMMENDS THE GRANT OF THE PETITION.

PETITIONER: General Electric Company

CONTRACT: INVENTION:

NASA 5-746

Nonlinear Circuit

STATEMENT OF FACTS: The Petitioner, General Electric Company, is a contractor of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, under Contract NAS 5-746. The petition was made for waiver of title of the United States in an invention entitled "Nonlinear Circuit," described in an attachment to the petition. The invention was made by Joseph P. Hesler, Robert J. McFadyen, and Fritz H. Schlereth, employees of the Petitioner, in the performance of work required under the aboveidentified contract, and in the manner specified in Section 305(a) of the National Aeronautics and and Space Act of 1958, as determined by the Administrator. The petition was considered by the Inventions and Contributions Board on September 10, 1965.

The Board, having duly considered the allegations and claims of the petition, expressly makes the findings required under Section 1245.106(b) of the NASA Patent Waiver Regulations (1964), (which Section, in its entirety, is hereby expressly incorporated by reference), and concludes that the invention does not fall within the enumerated proscriptions of the cited Section. The reasons for the Board's findings are stated below, corresponding in each case to the respective criterion set forth in each subsection.

SECTION 1245.106(b)(1). The invention is primarily directed to a nonlinear filter circuit network. The active nonlinear filter of the present invention improves the output signal to noise ratio over prior circuits. This circuit, being a general filter network, may have commercial as well as govern

mental applications, as is indicated by the multiplicity of filter circuits used in commercial electronic systems. The specific invention herein involved was not developed for use by the general public at home or abroad; rather, it was an incidental system developed under a NASA contract, the primary purpose of which was to develop the NIMBUS stabilization and control subsystem. Although the governmental weather satellite program, such as the NIMBUS program, is directed to meteorological investigations for the purpose of providing weather forecasters with pictures of cloud coverage over the earth, the invention is only remotely related to the weather program, since it is a minor electronic component of the spacecraft system, of which there are numerous other systems that could be used to perform the same function, albeit with less efficiency or simplicity.

SECTION 1245.106(b)(2). The invention, a nonlinear filter network, was made in the course of development of a stabilization and control subsystem for the NIMBUS weather satellite. Inasmuch as the novel electronic filter circuit is for highly specialized use, and, moreover, since the invention is one of numerous other filter networks that could be used in the satellite system to perform the same function, it is unlikely that the Weather Bureau or any other Government agency will require use of the invention by the general public through governmental regulations.

SECTION 1245.106(b)(3). The invention, a nonlinear filter network, is only a minor

component that may be used in lieu of other similar networks in the NIMBUS weather satellite system, and, as such, is not directly related to the public health or public welfare. The general nature of the invention is evidenced by its prospective application in electrocardiogram equipment. In this regard, the Petitioner has stated the the invention is being tested, along with other filter networks, for use in such equipment. Inasmuch as the invention may not be selected for use in the electrocardiogram device, it is apparent that a filter network of general purpose, such as the present invention, is not directly related to the public health or public welfare.

SECTION 1245.106(b)(4). The invention is in the field of technology of electronic filter circuits. There is an abundance of evidence that this field of technology has been developed primarily by nongovernmental funding. Filter circuits have been in use since electronics began, and are widely used in television, radio, information transmission and receiving systems, computers, and in other electronic circuitry, such as electrical testing instruments. The Petitioner has stated that General Electric has obtained vast experience and competence through considerable internal funding and effort in active filter circuits and related operational amplifiers, and that considerable sums have been expended in these areas at General Electric's Communication Products Department and Industrial Control Department. More specifically, it is alleged that General Electric has spent about $250,000 in the active filter area and more than $200,000 in the amplifier area. In addition, the Petitioner has identified several company-owned patents for inventions developed in the course of work in these areas. In view of the Petitioner's experience in electronic circuits, and, moreover, in view of the fact that the prior art includes a wide range of active filter circuits, many of which could have been employed in lieu of the present invention, albeit with less effectiveness or simplicity, the acquisition of exclusive rights to this invention would not confer on the Petitioner a preferred or dominant position.

However, the Board further expressly finds that although waiver of title is not proscribed by Section 1245.106(b), the Petitioner has failed to meet fully the additional

requirements of Section 1245.104(a), subsections (1) through (4), (which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference), and Section 1245.106(c)(2). The reasons for the Board's findings are stated below, corresponding in each instance to the respective criterion set forth in each subsection. SECTION 1245.104(a)(1). A principal purpose of the contract is to develop a stabilization and control subsystem for the NIMBUS meteorological satellite. The subsystem to be developed under the contract is intended for NASA's use in the operation of the NIMBUS spacecraft; accordingly, the invention will not be required by governmental regulations for use by the general public.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(2). A principal purpose of the contract is to develop an orbit stabilization and control subsystem and associated ground support equipment for the NIMBUS meteorological satellite. Although the object of the NIMBUS program is the exploration of the meteorology of the earth's atmosphere, the development of the stabilization and control subsystem for the satellite does not, in itself, require an exploration into fields that directly concern the public health or public welfare. In this regard, the contractor's main effort will be directed primarily to constructing meteorological sensory subsystems, an attitude and control subsystem including satellite monitoring, telemetering and programming, and ground service and handling equipment required for the control subsystem.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(3). The contract is in a field of technology relating to satellite stabilization and control systems. The work done in this field has been almost entirely sponsored by the Government. It has not been shown that there are concerns that hold a patent position in this field. New and virtually undeveloped areas of technology may be involved in development of satellite control systems; consequently, the acquisition of exclusive rights at the time of contracting might have conferred on the contractor a preferred or dominant position.

SECTION 1245.104(a)(4). Other than a small amount of Government property that will be made available to the contractor for use in performing the contract work, the contractor is required to furnish the necessary

personnel, facilities, equipment, and materials to carry out the work and objectives of the contract. There is no provision in the contract regarding the services of the contractor for coordinating or directing the work of others.

SECTION 1245.106(c)(2)(i). In the performance of a satellite stabilization and control subsystem, an active filter circuit selected from among numerous prior-art filter devices could have been employed in lieu of the present circuit, albeit with less effectiveness or simplicity. Inasmuch as the improved filter circuit was not required for satisfactory operation of the satellite control system under study, the making of the invention was not the primary purpose of the contract, but was incidental and ancillary thereto.

SECTION 1245.106(c)(2)(ii). In the initial consideration of the petition, it was decided that waiver may not be granted, since it was not shown that waiver of title was a necessary incentive to call forth private risk capital to bring the invention to the point of practical application. In this regard, it was determined that the Petitioner's statement that "without promise of patent protection the Petitioner is reluctant to fund further development of the device toward providing desirable commercial end uses, since the invention relates to a physical circuit that in a marketed product could be readily adopted by others" was not persuasive that waiver of title was such a necessary incentive. Absent information from the Petitioner that positive action has been or will be taken toward further invention development or commercialization,

the retention of commercial rights is deemed merely an incentive. The Petitioner, in a request to the Board urging favorable reconsideration of his petition for waiver of title, has, however, provided additional information to support a favorable finding on the issue of necessary incentive. In the reconsideration petition, the the Petitioner states that subsequent to the work performed on the invention under the subject contract, General Electric has expended about $11,000 in private funds toward developing the invention for use in cardiac monitoring equipment, and that the invention is presently being evaluated to determine its quality of performance in such equipment. These efforts are of course made in contemplation of receiving commercial rights to the invention, since the Petitioner has indicated that should the invention test successfully, commercial rights would be an important factor toward further development and ultimate commercialization. In view of the considerable expenditure of funds by the Petitioner for seeking a specific commercial use of the invention, and because the ownership of title may be the determining factor for such use, it is established that waiver of title is a necessary incentive to bring the invention to the point of practical application.

On the basis of all the above-enumerated findings, the Inventions and Contributions Board concludes that the best interests of the United States would be served by waiving title under Section 1245.106 of the NASA Patent Waiver Regulations of August 27, 1964, and therefore RECOMMENDS THE GRANT OF THE PETITION.