Federal laboratories play a unique role in the U.S. economy. Research and development conducted at these labs has contributed to the advancement or improvement of such key general-purpose technologies as nuclear energy, computers, the Internet, genomics, satellite navigation, the Global Positioning System, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. Digital output from federal laboratories includes data, metadata, images, software, code, tools, databases, algorithms, and statistical models. Importantly, these digital products are nonrivalrous, meaning that unlike physical products, they can be copied at little or no cost and used by many without limit or additional cost. Advancing Commercialization of Digital Products from Federal Laboratories explores opportunities to add economic value to U.S. industry through enhanced utilization of intellectual property around digital products created at federal laboratories. This report examines the current state of commercialization of digital products developed at the federal labs and, to a limited extent, by extramural awardees, to help identify barriers to commercialization and technology transfer, taking into account differences between government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) and government-owned, government-operated (GOGO) federal labs.

Contents

• The National Academies of SCIENCES • ENGINEERING • MEDICINE
• COMMITTEE ON ADVANCING COMMERCIALIZATION FROM THE FEDERAL LABORATORIES
• BOARD ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND ECONOMIC POLICY
• Preface
• Acknowledgment of Reviewers
• Summary
  • STUDY PURPOSE AND SCOPE
  • KEY FINDINGS
  • KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
  • FINAL THOUGHTS
• 1. Introduction
  • STUDY PURPOSE AND SCOPE
  • DEFINITIONS OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, COMMERCIALIZATION, AND DIGITAL PRODUCTS
  • ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
• 2. The U.S. Federal Laboratory System
  • HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF THE FEDERAL LABORATORIES
  • THE FEDERAL LABORATORY INFRASTRUCTURE
  • GOVERNMENT-OWNED, GOVERNMENT-OPERATED (GOGO) AND GOVERNMENT-OWNED, CONTRACTOR-OPERATED (GOCO) LABORATORIES
  • OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES OF THE FEDERAL LABORATORIES
  • TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER LEGISLATION AND POLICY RELEVANT TO FEDERAL LABORATORIES
  • CONCLUSION
• 3. Digital Products and Federal Policy for the Innovation Economy
  • DIGITAL PRODUCTS AND INNOVATION
  • INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY POLICY AND INNOVATION IN THE FEDERAL LABORATORIES
  • THE ECONOMICS OF DIGITAL PRODUCTS
  • CONCLUSION
  • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• 4. Patents, Trade Secrets, Digital Products, and Federal Laboratories
  • PATENTS
  • TRADE SECRETS
  • INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SURROGATES: CONTRACTUAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL MEASURES
  • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• 5. Copyrights, Digital Products, and Federal Laboratories
  • OVERVIEW OF COPYRIGHT IN DIGITAL PRODUCTS
  • THE GOVERNMENT WORKS COPYRIGHT EXCLUSION
  • APPLYING COPYRIGHT TO FEDERALLY CREATED SOFTWARE
  • LIMITING AND ASSESSING COPYRIGHT AND EXCLUSIVE LICENSING OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPED BY GOGO FEDERAL LABORATORIES
  • ADVANCING COHERENCE IN GOVERNMENT SOFTWARE POLICY
  • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• 6. Technology Transfer Pathways for Digital Products
  • TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OFFICES AT THE FEDERAL LABORATORIES
  • TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND DISSEMINATION PATHWAYS
  • TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER/COMMERCIALIZATION ECOSYSTEM ENABLERS
  • INCENTIVES FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS TO ENGAGE IN TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AT FEDERAL LABORATORIES
  • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• 7. Measuring the Commercialization of Digital Products from Federal Laboratories
  • OVERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF AVAILABLE DATA
  • PROPOSED NEW METRICS
  • IN CLOSING
  • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• References
• Appendix A. Agendas
• Appendix B. Biographies of Committee Members
• Appendix C. Definitions of Digital Products
• Appendix D. List of Federal Laboratories

Suggested citation:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Advancing Commercialization of Digital Products from Federal Laboratories. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26006.

Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/26006

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