Will my intellectual property be safe under a CRADA?
Yes. All parties agree to keep the research results confidential to the extent permitted by the law until they are published in scientific literature or presented at a public forum.
At the conclusion of the cooperative effort, the results may often be considered proprietary. Proprietary information provided by the collaborator under the CRADA will be maintained in confidence by the government to the extent permitted by law. Disclosure of proprietary information should be limited to the minimum required to carry out the research defined in the CRADA.
How are non-federal collaborators protected?
Under a CRADA, the non-federal collaborator may:
- Retain ownership rights to inventions or other forms of intellectual property made during the course of the CRADA by its employees
- Obtain an exclusive or nonexclusive license to make, have made, use or sell any inventions made by federal employees.
Certain commercially valuable information generated under the CRADA can also be protected from public dissemination for up to five years.
How is the government protected?
The government is entitled to a royalty-free right to use all inventions made under a CRADA for government purposes.
The private industry cooperator can retain patent and intellectual property rights or retain an exclusive license to a patent. The government has the right to use any information, but must respect the proprietary rights of the cooperator. In addition, any other government agency may use the information emerging from a CRADA effort, but it, too, must protect the cooperator's proprietary rights. The proprietary right protection gives added incentive to the cooperator for transferring the technology or research development through marketing and commercialization efforts.