
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 35USC203]

 
                            TITLE 35--PATENTS
 
        PART II--PATENTABILITY OF INVENTIONS AND GRANT OF PATENTS
 
  CHAPTER 18--PATENT RIGHTS IN INVENTIONS MADE WITH FEDERAL ASSISTANCE
 
Sec. 203. March-in rights

    (1.\1\ With respect to any subject invention in which a small 
business firm or nonprofit organization has acquired title under this 
chapter, the Federal agency under whose funding agreement the subject 
invention was made shall have the right, in accordance with such 
procedures as are provided in regulations promulgated hereunder to 
require the contractor, an assignee or exclusive licensee of a subject 
invention to grant a nonexclusive, partially exclusive, or exclusive 
license in any field of use to a responsible applicant or applicants, 
upon terms that are reasonable under the circumstances, and if the 
contractor, assignee, or exclusive licensee refuses such request, to 
grant such a license itself, if the Federal agency determines that 
such--
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    \1\ So in original. Probably should be ``(1)''.
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        (a) action is necessary because the contractor or assignee has 
    not taken, or is not expected to take within a reasonable time, 
    effective steps to achieve practical application of the subject 
    invention in such field of use;
        (b) action is necessary to alleviate health or safety needs 
    which are not reasonably satisfied by the contractor, assignee, or 
    their licensees;
        (c) action is necessary to meet requirements for public use 
    specified by Federal regulations and such requirements are not 
    reasonably satisfied by the contractor, assignee, or licensees; or
        (d) action is necessary because the agreement required by 
    section 204 has not been obtained or waived or because a licensee of 
    the exclusive right to use or sell any subject invention in the 
    United States is in breach of its agreement obtained pursuant to 
    section 204.

    (2) A determination pursuant to this section or section 202(b)(4) 
shall not be subject to the Contract Disputes Act (41 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et 
seq.). An administrative appeals procedure shall be established by 
regulations promulgated in accordance with section 206. Additionally, 
any contractor, inventor, assignee, or exclusive licensee adversely 
affected by a determination under this section may, at any time within 
sixty days after the determination is issued, file a petition in the 
United States Court of Federal Claims, which shall have jurisdiction to 
determine the appeal on the record and to affirm, reverse, remand or 
modify, ``,\2\ as appropriate, the determination of the Federal agency. 
In cases described in paragraphs (a) and (c), the agency's determination 
shall be held in abeyance pending the exhaustion of appeals or petitions 
filed under the preceding sentence.
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    \2\ So in original. Quotation marks and comma probably should not 
appear.
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(Added Pub. L. 96-517, Sec. 6(a), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 3022; amended 
Pub. L. 98-620, title V, Sec. 501(9), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3367; Pub. 
L. 102-572, title IX, Sec. 902(b)(1), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4516.)

                       References in Text

    The Contract Disputes Act of 1978, referred to in par. (2), is Pub. 
L. 95-563, Nov. 1, 1978, 92 Stat. 2383, as amended, which is classified 
principally to chapter 9 (Sec. 601 et seq.) of Title 41, Public 
Contracts. For complete classification of this Act to the Code see Short 
Title note set out under section 601 of Title 41 and Tables.


                               Amendments

    1992--Par. (2). Pub. L. 102-572 substituted ``United States Court of 
Federal Claims'' for ``United States Claims Court''.
    1984--Pub. L. 98-620 designated existing provisions as par. (1) and 
added par. (2).


                    Effective Date of 1992 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 102-572 effective Oct. 29, 1992, see section 
911 of Pub. L. 102-572, set out as a note under section 171 of Title 28, 
Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 202, 206, 210 of this title; 
title 15 section 3710a.
