Intellectual Property Policy

1. Purpose 

This policy establishes guidance to help employees achieve an appropriate balance between the broad dissemination of research results in support of the laboratory’s scientific mission and the protection of intellectual property that can lead to new U.S. industries, new companies, and new jobs in support of the laboratory’s technology transfer mission. 

2. Scope 

This policy encompasses all intellectual property explicit in Fermi Research Alliance’s Prime M&O contract with the Department of Energy, No. DE-AC02-07CH11359, which includes patents, trademarks, copyrights, mask works, protected CRADA information, and other forms of comparable property rights protected by Federal Law and other foreign counterparts. 

3. Applicability 

This policy applies to all work, facilities, personnel, and research and development activities sponsored or supported by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC (FRA). 

4. Effective date 

This policy went into effect November 1, 2014 and its update was effective on July 29, 2021. 

5. Policy 

The laboratory will protect intellectual property that may have potential commercial value in order to preserve the ability to license these technologies to one or more industrial partners for the enhancement of U.S. competitiveness. 

1. Employees are required to disclose information on any invention, discovery, creation, or improvement arising from or related to work at Fermilab that is conceived while employed by the laboratory.

2. All software arising from or related to work at Fermilab that is conceived while employed by the laboratory shall be disclosed to the Office of Partnerships and Technology Transfer prior to external dissemination. 

1. 1. With respect to Open Source projects, the project is reviewed prior to dissemination. If approved as Open Source, further contributions to the project do not require additional review prior to dissemination.

1. 2. With respect to non-Open Source projects, prior review may be required for each subsequent dissemination. 

3. Partners are required to disclose such information in accordance with the terms of the specific partnering agreement that they have signed with the laboratory and/or their funding agency. 

4. Disclosures must be in writing and shall be submitted to the Office of Partnerships and Technology Transfer. 

5. All theses and Scientific/Technical publications written for external distribution must be submitted to Technical Publications at https://techpubs.fnal.gov/ prior to publication. 

6. Employees will not disseminate or publicly display Proprietary Information belonging to Partners with whom we do business that is subject to a signed non-disclosure agreement or which has been marked clearly as proprietary. 

7. Employees and Partners will not disseminate or publicly display any information that has been marked Protected CRADA Information. 

8. Decisions to protect intellectual property will be made on a case-by-case basis; however, the laboratory will generally favor protection unless there is a clear, programmatic benefit to waiving protection that outweighs the economic benefit to the U.S. 

9. Disclosures should be made in advance of the publication or presentation of information that describes any such invention, discovery, creation, or improvement, to allow sufficient time to make an informed decision to protect or publicly disseminate the information and not delay the publication or presentation. 

6. Definitions

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) refers the Partnering Agreement that is used to perform cost-shared, collaborative research with non-federal entities.  

Disclosure is a written description sufficiently complete in technical detail to convey a clear understanding to the extent known at the time of the disclosure, of the nature, purpose, operation, and the physical, chemical, biological or electrical characteristics of the invention. For purposes of this policy, disclosure means providing a written description of an invention, discovery, creation, or improvement to the Office of Partnerships and Technology Transfer. 

Intellectual Property means patents, trademarks, copyrights, mask works, protected CRADA information, and other forms of comparable property rights protected by Federal Law and other foreign counterparts.  

Partner is the term used to refer to all parties who participate in a formal, collaborative relationship with the laboratory, including Sponsors of a Strategic Partnership Projects (SPP) Agreement, Participants in a CRADA, or Users under a User Facility Agreement. 

Partnering Agreement refers to all forms of legally binding agreements with Partners, excluding procurement instruments and licensing agreements. 

Proprietary Information means information, including data, which is developed at private expense, marked as Proprietary Information, and embodies trade secretes or commercial or financial information which is privileged or confidential under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(4)). 

Protected CRADA Information means any information produced in the performance of a CRADA and which has been marked as being Protected CRADA Information by the laboratory or the Partner and which would have been Proprietary Information had it been obtained from a non-Federal entity. 

User Facility Agreement refers to the Partnering Agreement that is used to support research collaborations and externally funded experiments that are performed on-site at Fermilab. 

Strategic Partnership Projects (SPP) refers to the Partnering Agreement that is used to perform work for non-federal entities on a fully reimbursable basis. 

7. Responsibilities 

The Head of Technology Engagement is responsible for authorizing or delegating authority for making the final decisions on protection of potentially valuable intellectual property. 

The Manager of the Office of Partnerships and Technology Transfer is responsible for administering the Partnership Management System for the laboratory, including the administration of the Intellectual Property Management policies and procedures.   

8. Authorities 

1. DOE Prime Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359 for the Management and Operation of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), specifically:
   
   1. Primary Technology Transfer Requirements are contained in Clauses I-95, I.104 through I.110, Appendix A Section X, and Appendix I
   2. Other Key Requirements are contained in Clause I.74, I.91, I.101, I.102, I.117, and Appendix J
2. Section 152 Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. §2182)
3. Section 9 of the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. §5908)
4. Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, as amended (35 U.S.C. §200 et seq.)
5. Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980, as amended (15 U.S.C. §3710a)
   

9. Owner 

The Head of Technology Engagements is the owner of this policy.   

10. Review cycle 

This policy is to be reviewed every five years after issuance. 

11. Communication Plan  

The requirements of this policy shall be communicated to all employees, and periodic training shall be provided to Chiefs/Division Heads/Section Heads/Project Directors. This policy shall be available online in the Fermilab policy database.  The Head of Technology Engagements is responsible for the communication of this policy.