Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer

Authority

• 15 U.S.C. 3710a. The governing regulation is AR 70-57, Military-Civilian Technology Transfer, 26 February 2004.

Description

• A CRADA is an agreement between one or more federal laboratories and one or more nonfederal parties to conduct specified R&D-, technology transfer-related activities that are consistent with the laboratory's mission.

  The federal laboratory can provide personnel, services, facilities, equipment, and other resources to the other party, but no funding.

  The nonfederal party may provide funds, personnel, services, facilities, equipment, or other resources.

Features/Characteristics

• The CRADA provides for the protection of company proprietary information.

  Certain data resulting from the work can be protected for up to five years.

I.P. and Resource Commitment

• Intellectual property (IP) rights in existence prior to a collaboration are retained by the provider, while any rights to newly created intellectual property developed under a CRADA are negotiated as part of the agreement.

  The CRADA guarantees to the nonfederal party a nonexclusive, paid-up, royalty-free license to any patents that are derived from the CRADA research.

  A CRADA also provides the partner with an option to exclusively license inventions made by the Army investigator under the agreement.

Other Agencies/Laboratories That Use This Mechanism