Working with NIST

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Working with NIST

• Paul Zielinski

Chief, Office of Technology Partnerships
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Collaborative Research Technology Development
Programs

• Informal Collaboration
• Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
• Guest Research Agreements
• Facility Use Agreements
• Cooperative Research and Development Agreements
  (CRADA)
• Licensing Agreements

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Informal Collaboration and Memorandum of
Understanding

• Informal Collaboration
• Most common form of interaction with university
  industry partners
• No preferential intellectual property rights
  common law
• Proprietary information covered by Trade Secrets
  Act
• Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
• Typically used to broadly define a collaborative
  relationship between institutions.
• Frequently implemented via subsidiary agreements

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Guest Research Agreement

• Most common formal partnering agreement (about
  1500 per year)
• Purpose - make NIST facilities available for a
  limited time to researchers collaborating on RD
  projects of mutual interest
• Partners
• Universities
• Industry
• Other government agencies
• Local/state government
• International institutions

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Facility Use Agreement

• Industry use of designated NIST measurement
  equipment and facilities
• Not competitive with private sector
• Equal access
• Availability
• Cost recovery
• Safety
• Proprietary
• Non-Proprietary

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Cooperative Research and Development Agreement
(CRADA)

• Defines partners rights
• Intellectual property rights.
• Potential to protect results from the Freedom of
  Information Act.
• Possible exclusive license without a public
  process.
• Either party may contribute equipment,
  facilities, personnel, intellectual property -
  NIST cannot provide funds to the collaborator but
  partners may provide funds to NIST.
• Consortia
• Governed by identical agreements with several
  industry partners
• Examples Gene Expression Metrology External RNA
  Control Fire Resistive Materials for Structural
  Steel
• Material Transfer Agreement

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Licensing Agreement

• NIST patents are available for licensing
• US manufacturing
• Exclusive and non-exclusive opportunities
• Potential for CRADA
• NIST pursues patent protection for a technology
  when
• The patent may enhance its commercialization or
  use by industry.
• Seeking patent protection is required under a
  Cooperative Research and Development Agreement
  (CRADA).
• Patent protection is needed for other mission
  related reasons.

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Contact Information

• www.nist.gov look for Work with us
• http//patapsco.nist.gov/ts/220/external/index.htm
  
• J. Terry Lynch, CRADA and License Officer
  301-975-2691 or email jtlynch_at_nist.gov
• Paul Zielinski, Chief, Office of Technology
  Partnerships 301-975-4980 or paul.zielinski_at_nist.g
  ov