
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC2182]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
          CHAPTER 23--DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROL OF ATOMIC ENERGY
 
                        Division A--Atomic Energy
 
                 SUBCHAPTER XII--PATENTS AND INVENTIONS
 
Sec. 2182. Inventions conceived during Commission contracts; 
        ownership; waiver; hearings
        
    Any invention or discovery, useful in the production or utilization 
of special nuclear material or atomic energy, made or conceived in the 
course of or under any contract, subcontract, or arrangement entered 
into with or for the benefit of the Commission, regardless of whether 
the contract, subcontract, or arrangement involved the expenditure of 
funds by the Commission, shall be vested in, and be the property of, the 
Commission, except that the Commission may waive its claim to any such 
invention or discovery under such circumstances as the Commission may 
deem appropriate, consistent with the policy of this section. No patent 
for any invention or discovery, useful in the production or utilization 
of special nuclear material or atomic energy, shall be issued unless the 
applicant files with the application, or within thirty days after 
request therefor by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual 
Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office 
(unless the Commission advises the Under Secretary of Commerce for 
Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and 
Trademark Office that its rights have been determined and that 
accordingly no statement is necessary) a statement under oath setting 
forth the full facts surrounding the making or conception of the 
invention or discovery described in the application and whether the 
invention or discovery was made or conceived in the course of or under 
any contract, subcontract, or arrangement entered into with or for the 
benefit of the Commission, regardless of whether the contract, 
subcontract, or arrangement involved the expenditure of funds by the 
Commission. The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property 
and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall as 
soon as the application is otherwise in condition for allowance forward 
copies of the application and the statement to the Commission.
    The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and 
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office may proceed 
with the application and issue the patent to the applicant (if the 
invention or discovery is otherwise patentable) unless the Commission, 
within 90 days after receipt of copies of the application and statement, 
directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and 
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to issue the 
patent to the Commission (if the invention or discovery is otherwise 
patentable) to be held by the Commission as the agent of and on behalf 
of the United States.
    If the Commission files such a direction with the Under Secretary of 
Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States 
Patent and Trademark Office, and if the applicant's statement claims, 
and the applicant still believes, that the invention or discovery was 
not made or conceived in the course of or under any contract, 
subcontract or arrangement entered into with or for the benefit of the 
Commission entitling the Commission to the title to the application or 
the patent the applicant may, within 30 days after notification of the 
filing of such a direction, request a hearing before the Board of Patent 
Appeals and Interferences. The Board shall have the power to hear and 
determine whether the Commission was entitled to the direction filed 
with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and 
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Board 
shall follow the rules and procedures established for interference cases 
and an appeal may be taken by either the applicant or the Commission 
from the final order of the Board to the United States Court of Appeals 
for the Federal Circuit in accordance with the procedures governing the 
appeals from the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.
    If the statement filed by the applicant should thereafter be found 
to contain false material statements any notification by the Commission 
that it has no objections to the issuance of a patent to the applicant 
shall not be deemed in any respect to constitute a waiver of the 
provisions of this section or of any applicable civil or criminal 
statute, and the Commission may have the title to the patent transferred 
to the Commission on the records of the Under Secretary of Commerce for 
Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and 
Trademark Office in accordance with the provisions of this section. A 
determination of rights by the Commission pursuant to a contractual 
provision or other arrangement prior to the request of the Under 
Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the 
United States Patent and Trademark Office for the statement, shall be 
final in the absence of false material statements or nondisclosure of 
material facts by the applicant.

(Aug. 1, 1946, ch. 724, title I, Sec. 152, as added Aug. 30, 1954, ch. 
1073, Sec. 1, 68 Stat. 944; amended Pub. L. 87-206, Sec. 10, Sept. 6, 
1961, 75 Stat. 477; Pub. L. 87-615, Sec. 11, Aug. 29, 1962, 76 Stat. 
411; Pub. L. 97-164, title I, Sec. 162(2), Apr. 2, 1982, 96 Stat. 49; 
Pub. L. 98-622, title II, Sec. 205(b), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3388; 
renumbered title I, Pub. L. 102-486, title IX, Sec. 902(a)(8), Oct. 24, 
1992, 106 Stat. 2944; Pub. L. 106-113, div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title 
IV, Sec. 4732(b)(19)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A-585.)


                               Amendments

    1999--Pub. L. 106-113 substituted ``Under Secretary of Commerce for 
Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and 
Trademark Office'' for ``Commissioner of Patents'' wherever appearing.
    1984--Pub. L. 98-622, in third par., substituted ``the Board of 
Patent Appeals and Interferences'' for ``a Board of Patent 
Interferences'' and ``the Board of Patent Interferences''.
    1982--Pub. L. 97-164 substituted ``United States Court of Appeals 
for the Federal Circuit'' for ``Court of Customs and Patent Appeals'' in 
third par.
    1962--Pub. L. 87-615 substituted ``allowance'' for ``allowances'' 
before ``forward copies of the application'' in first par.
    1961--Pub. L. 87-206 clarified language concerning Commission's 
patent rights on inventions made or conceived under contract, 
subcontract, or arrangement with Commission, striking out language 
extending Commission's patent rights to other relationships and 
activities in connection with Commission contracts, provided for waiver 
of patent rights consistent with the policy of this section and for 
finality of determinations of Commission, and dispensed with need for 
statement to Commissioner of Patents under certain circumstances.


                    Effective Date of 1999 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 106-113 effective 4 months after Nov. 29, 1999, 
see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, Sec. 4731] of Pub. L. 106-113, set out 
as a note under section 1 of Title 35, Patents.


                    Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 98-622, effective three months after Nov. 8, 
1984, see section 207 of Pub. L. 98-622, set out as a note under section 
41 of Title 35, Patents.


                    Effective Date of 1982 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 97-164 effective Oct. 1, 1982, see section 402 
of Pub. L. 97-164, set out as a note under section 171 of Title 28, 
Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

                          Transfer of Functions

    Atomic Energy Commission abolished and functions transferred by 
sections 5814 and 5841 of this title. See, also, notes set out under 
those sections.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 7261a of this title; title 35 
section 210.
