18
Research Terms Clarification
[78 FR 78608, Dec. 26, 2013, as amended at 79 FR 75884, Dec. 19, 2014]
§200.315 Intangible property.
(a) Title to intangible property (see §200.59 Intangible property) acquired under a Federal award vests
upon acquisition in the non-Federal entity. The non-Federal entity must use that property for the originally-
authorized purpose, and must not encumber the property without approval of the Federal awarding agency.
When no longer needed for the originally authorized purpose, disposition of the intangible property must
occur in accordance with the provisions in §200.313 Equipment paragraph (e).
(b) The non-Federal entity may copyright any work that is subject to copyright and was developed, or
for which ownership was acquired, under a Federal award. The Federal awarding agency 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.
(c) The non-Federal entity is subject to applicable regulations governing patents and inventions,
including governmentwide 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 Awards, Contracts
and Cooperative Agreements.”
(d) The Federal Government has the right to:
(1) Obtain, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the data produced under a Federal award; and
(2) Authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use such data for Federal purposes.
(e) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
(1) In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for research data relating to published
research findings produced under a Federal award that were used by the Federal Government in developing
an agency action that has the force and effect of law, the Federal awarding agency must request, and the
non-Federal entity must 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 Federal awarding agency
obtains the research data solely in response to a FOIA request, the Federal awarding 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 Federal agency and the non-Federal entity. This fee is in addition to any fees the
Federal awarding agency may assess under the FOIA (5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)).
(2) Published research findings means when:
(i) Research findings are published in a peer-reviewed scientific or technical journal; or
(ii) A Federal agency publicly and officially cites the research findings in support of an agency action
that has the force and effect of law. “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.
(3) Research data means 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:
§200.315 Intangible property.
2 CFR § 200.315 specifies the Government’s and
recipient’s rights and responsibilities concerning intangible
property. For copyrights, patents and inventions, and data
that are generated or acquired under the award, there are the
following clarifications:
(a) The Federal awarding agency does not waive the
Federal Government’s rights concerning data first produced
under the award, as described in 2 CFR § 200.315(d).
b) The award must be subject to the Patents Rights (Small
Business Firms and Nonprofit Organizations) clause at 37 CFR
401.14 and the following:
(1) In each instance where the term “contract” or
“contractor” is used in the clause, those terms must be read
as “award” and “recipient,” respectively.
(2) In each instance where the term “Federal Agency,”
“agency,” or “funding Federal agency” is used in the clause,
the term must be read to mean the awarding agency for the
award.
(3) Under paragraph (g) of the clause, the title must read
“Contracts and Subawards Under the Award” and, in that
paragraph, “subcontract” and “subcontractor” must be read
as “contract” or “subaward.”
(4) Under subparagraph (g)(2) of the clause, if a contract
or subaward is to be made to any organization other than a
non-profit organization or small business firm, as defined in
paragraph (a) of the clause, the recipient must contact the
cognizant awarding agency official to ascertain the
appropriate patent clause.
(c) No scholarship, fellowship, training grant, or other
funding agreement made primarily to a recipient for
educational purposes will contain any provision giving the
Federal awarding agency rights to inventions made by the
recipient, as stated in 2 CFR § 200.307.
(d) See the agency-specific requirements of the award for
the point of contact for communications on matters relating