Title: | Fairness of Opportunity | Publication date: | 3/31/2021 | Effective date: | 1/31/2011 |
POLICYA. PurposeLawrence 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
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C. ExceptionsThis 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 ResponsibilitiesRole | 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/AcronymsTerm | 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 DocumentsNone Licensing Manager
Intellectual Property Office
[email protected] J. Revision HistoryDate | Revision | By whom | Revision Description | Section(s) affected | Change Type | 1/2/2012 | 0 | H. Clark | New | All | Major | 12/20/2012 | 1 | V. Wolinsky | Rewrite for wiki (policy) | All | Major | | 12/17/2020 |
| D. Soustin | Updated Contract 31 I clause numbers as per mod 1105 | Source Requirement Documents | Editorial | | 3/31/2021 | 1.1 | R. Carrington | Periodic review. Updated office names and contact info. | All | Editorial |
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