Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer

Authority

• 43 U.S.C. 36c, Acceptance of contributions from public and private sources, and 15 U.S.C. 3710a, the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980, as amended by the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (FTTA).

Description

• A CRADA is an agreement between one or more federal laboratories and one or more nonfederal parties under which the government, through its laboratories, provides personnel, services, facilities, equipment, intellectual property, or other resources with or without reimbursement.

  Nonfederal parties provide funds, personnel, services, facilities, equipment, intellectual property, or other resources toward the research efforts.

Features/Characteristics

• Protects background inventions, trade secrets and confidential information.

  Offers access to VA research resources, including personnel, services, and property.

  No funds are provided to nonfederal parties.

I.P. and Resource Commitment

• Proprietary information of the nonfederal party is protected.

  The non-federal collaborator may negotiate to retain ownership rights to intellectual property.

  The government is entitled to a royalty-free right to use all inventions made under a CRADA for government purposes.

Other Agencies/Laboratories That Use This Mechanism