Fairness of Opportunity

Title:	Fairness of Opportunity
Publication date:	3/31/2021
Effective date:	1/31/2011

BRIEF

Policy Summary

Berkeley Lab will take reasonable measures to broadly notify interested parties of technologies available for joint research and license.

Who Should Read This Policy

This policy applies to:

Berkeley Lab researchers
Intellectual Property Office (IPO) staff
Strategic Partnerships Office (SPO) staff

To Read the Full Policy, Go To:

The POLICY tab on this wiki page

Contact Information

Licensing Manager
Intellectual Property Office
[email protected]

Title:	Fairness of Opportunity
Publication date:	3/31/2021
Effective date:	1/31/2011

POLICY

A. Purpose

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) will take reasonable measures to ensure widespread notice of availability of technologies suitable for transfer, in particular notice of opportunities for exclusive licensing and joint research arrangements.

B. Persons Affected

Berkeley Lab researchers
Intellectual Property Office (IPO) staff
Strategic Partnerships Office (SPO) staff

C. Exceptions

This policy does not apply to technologies created by, nor to specific applications developed by, entities other than Berkeley Lab. This policy likewise does not apply to technologies developed under Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) or other technology-transfer agreements with predetermined intellectual property dispositions. (Fairness-of-opportunity requirements may apply to the selection of the CRADA participant itself.)

D. Policy Statement

In conducting its technology-transfer activities, Berkeley Lab will ensure the widespread notice of opportunities for exclusive licensing or joint research arrangements.
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) department is responsible for ensuring the widespread notice of licensing opportunities. This helps IPO meet DOE's Fairness of Opportunity requirements by increasing the pool of potential licensees and thereby maximizing potential utilization of Berkeley Lab technology by public and private entities. IPO may use a variety of different avenues for broadly providing notice of available technologies. These avenues include postings on the IPO or third-party Web sites; e-mails to recipients in particular industrial sectors; Berkeley Lab press releases; social media postings; or participation in trade shows. Berkeley Lab researchers may also contribute to this effort, including through their publications or participation in conferences.
Before exclusive licensing, a technology is typically posted or the opportunity is otherwise disseminated for a month or longer. There is no mandated amount of time, however, for the technology outreach effort.
SPO is responsible for informing DOE that Berkeley Lab has met the fairness-of-opportunity obligations for CRADAs. The availability of the joint research opportunity may be publicized by the research division, or IPO may assist in publicizing the opportunity. Per Section C, Exceptions, Berkeley Lab does not need to widely disseminate collaborations proposed by the Laboratory's research partner. In general, however, fairness-of-opportunity efforts encourage collaboration with Berkeley Lab by ensuring the best minds from industry and academia are aware of the Laboratory's joint research opportunities.

E. Roles and Responsibilities

Role	Responsibility
IPO Marketing Staff	Posts all Berkeley Lab technologies exclusively licensed to: the Berkeley Lab Web site, the Federal Business Opportunities Web site, and/or third-party Web sites Tracks all technology inquiries in the IPO database
IPO Licensing Staff	Documents the Laboratory's efforts to ensure fairness of opportunity in selecting an exclusive licensee
Researcher	Cooperates with IPO in promoting licensing or joint research opportunities
SPO Staff	Documents the Laboratory's efforts to ensure fairness of opportunity in selecting a CRADA participant

F. Definitions/Acronyms

Term	Definition
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)	A contract that governs a joint research project in which the CRADA participant (usually a company) may provide some or all of the funding for the Berkeley Lab research effort, and funds all of its own research effort
Exclusive License	An agreement between an owner and another party that permits the other party to make certain use of the property, with the understanding that the owner may not concurrently grant any other licenses that have the same rights within the scope or field covered by the exclusive license
Joint Research	Research conducted by Berkeley Lab researchers and an outside entity
Licensing	Granting a license under intellectual property rights to authorize a use (such as copying software or using a patented invention) to a licensee, sparing the licensee from a claim of infringement brought by the licensor
SPO	Strategic Partnerships Office
IPO	Intellectual Property Office
Policy	Statements or directives from the federal, state, or local government; the University of California; or Berkeley Lab senior management that set a course of action, define acceptable conduct, or implement governing principles. Example: Berkeley Lab Site Access

G. Recordkeeping Requirements

IPO keeps records of technology inquiries and fairness of opportunity efforts for licensing.
SPO keeps records of CRADA documents it submits to DOE.

H. Implementing Documents

None

I. Contact Information