(a) Pursuant to §1245.113, NASA has facilitated the filing of foreign patent applications by contractors by providing for the granting of a waiver of title to a contractor to any identified invention in countries other than the United States in the event the Administrator of NASA does not desire to file a patent application covering the invention in such countries. However, any such waiver is subject to the reservation by the Administrator of the license required to be retained by NASA under 51 U.S.C. 20135(g) of the National Aeronautics and Space Act, as amended.

(b) Conversely, where the principal rights in an invention made under a NASA contract remain in the contractor by virtue of waiver, §1245.19(a)(5) provides that the contractor, upon written request, will convey to the Administrator of NASA the entire right, title, and interest in the invention in any foreign country in which the contractor has elected not to file a patent application.

(c) With respect to inventions in which NASA has acquired and retained the principal rights, NASA will file patent applications in countries other than the United States on inventions selected in accordance with the criteria set forth in §1245.303.

[30 FR 1844, Feb. 10, 1965, as amended at 80 FR 42029, July 16, 2015]