
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC7261a]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                    CHAPTER 84--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
 
                SUBCHAPTER VI--ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
 
                Part C--General Administrative Provisions
 
Sec. 7261a. Protection of sensitive technical information


(a) Property rights in inventions and discoveries; timely determination; 
        reports to Congressional committees

    (1) Whenever any contractor makes an invention or discovery to which 
the title vests in the Department of Energy pursuant to exercise of 
section 202(a)(ii) or (iv) of title 35, or pursuant to section 2182 of 
this title or section 5908 of this title in the course of or under any 
Government contract or subcontract of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion 
Program or the nuclear weapons programs or other atomic energy defense 
activities of the Department of Energy and the contractor requests 
waiver of any or all of the Government's property rights, the Secretary 
of Energy may decide to waive the Government's rights and assign the 
rights in such invention or discovery.
    (2) Such decision shall be made within 150 days after the date on 
which a complete request for waiver of such rights has been submitted to 
the Secretary by the contractor. For purposes of this paragraph, a 
complete request includes such information, in such detail and form, as 
the Secretary by regulation prescribes as necessary to allow the 
Secretary to take into consideration the matters described in subsection 
(b) of this section in making the decision.
    (3) If the Secretary fails to make the decision within such 150-day 
period, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services 
of the House of Representatives and the Senate, within 10 days after the 
end of the 150-day period, a report on the reasons for such failure. The 
submission of such report shall not relieve the Secretary of the 
requirement to make the decision under this section. The Secretary 
shall, at the end of each 30-day period after submission of the first 
report during which the Secretary continues to fail to make the decision 
required by this section, submit another report on the reasons for such 
failure to the committees listed in this paragraph.

(b) Matters to be considered

    In making a decision under this section, the Secretary shall 
consider, in addition to the applicable policies of section 2182 of this 
title or subsections (c) and (d) of section 5908 of this title--
        (1) whether national security will be compromised;
        (2) whether sensitive technical information (whether classified 
    or unclassified) under the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program or the 
    nuclear weapons programs or other atomic energy defense activities 
    of the Department of Energy for which dissemination is controlled 
    under Federal statutes and regulations will be released to 
    unauthorized persons;
        (3) whether an organizational conflict of interest contemplated 
    by Federal statutes and regulations will result; and
        (4) whether failure to assert such a claim will adversely affect 
    the operation of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program or the nuclear 
    weapons programs or other atomic energy defense activities of the 
    Department of Energy.

(Pub. L. 99-661, div. C, title I, Sec. 3131, Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 
4062; Pub. L. 100-180, div. C, title III, Sec. 3135(a), Dec. 4, 1987, 
101 Stat. 1240.)

                          Codification

    Section was enacted as part of the Department of Energy National 
Security and Military Applications of Nuclear Energy Authorization Act 
of 1987 and also as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 1987, and not as part of the Department of Energy 
Organization Act which comprises this chapter.


                               Amendments

    1987--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100-180 designated existing provisions as 
par. (1), struck out at end ``Such decision shall be made within a 
reasonable time (which shall usually be six months from the date of the 
request by the contractor for assignment of such rights).'', and added 
pars. (2) and (3).


                    Effective Date of 1987 Amendment

    Section 3135(b) of Pub. L. 100-180 provided that: ``Paragraphs (2) 
and (3) of section 3131(a) of the Department of Energy National Security 
and Military Applications of Nuclear Energy Authorization Act of 1987 
[subsec. (a)(2), (3) of this section] (as added by subsection (a)) shall 
apply with respect to waiver requests submitted by contractors under 
that section after March 1, 1988.''
