27.301 Definitions
Source: FAR 27.301 on acquisition.gov
If an invention is conceived or first reduced to practice during contract performance, it may be a subject invention, triggering Government patent-rights obligations and potential reporting and commercialization requirements.
Overview
- FAR 27.301 provides the core definitions used in Subpart 27.3, Patent Rights under Government Contracts. These terms determine when an invention falls within the Government contract patent-rights framework and how contractors, universities, and nonprofit entities should evaluate inventions created during contract performance.
- The section is foundational because later clauses and procedures rely on these definitions to decide ownership, disclosure, reporting, and commercialization obligations.
Key Rules
- Invention
- Covers any invention or discovery that may be patentable under Title 35 of the U.S. Code, as well as plant varieties potentially protected under the Plant Variety Protection Act.
- Made
- For most inventions, this means conception or first actual reduction to practice. For plant varieties, it means the contractor has tentatively determined the variety has been reproduced with recognized characteristics.
- Subject invention / Practical application / Nonprofit organization
- A subject invention is any contractor invention made during performance of a Government contract. Practical application means the invention is actually being used and its benefits are available to the public on reasonable terms. Nonprofit organization identifies entities such as universities and qualifying tax-exempt organizations that may receive special treatment under patent-rights rules.
Responsibilities
- Contracting Officers: apply these definitions consistently when administering patent-rights clauses and determining whether an invention is covered.
- Contractors: identify inventions made under the contract and assess whether they qualify as subject inventions.
- Agencies: use these definitions to oversee reporting, rights allocation, and utilization of federally funded inventions.
Practical Implications
- This section exists to create a uniform vocabulary for patent-rights administration.
- It affects how contractors classify inventions, determine reporting triggers, and evaluate commercialization obligations.
- A common pitfall is failing to recognize that early-stage inventions, reductions to practice, or protected plant varieties may still qualify as subject inventions under the contract.
As used in this subpart-
Invention means any invention or discovery that is or may be patentable or otherwise protectable under title 35 of the U.S. Code, or any variety of plant that is or may be protectable under the Plant Variety Protection Act (http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml;jsessionid=114A3287C7B3359E597506A31FC855B3" target="_blank">7 U.S .C. 2321, et seq.)
Made means-
(1) When used in relation to any invention other than a plant variety, means the conception or first actual reduction to practice of the invention; or
(2) When used in relation to a plant variety, means that the contractor has at least tentatively determined that the variety has been reproduced with recognized characteristics.
Nonprofit organization means a university or other institution of higher education or an organization of the type described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title26-section501(c)&num=0&edition=prelim" target="_blank">26 U.S.C. 501(c)) and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title26-section501(a)&num=0&edition=prelim" target="_blank">26 U.S.C. 501(a)), or any nonprofit scientific or educational organization qualified under a State nonprofit organization statute.
Practical application means to manufacture, in the case of a composition or product; to practice, in the case of a process or method; or to operate, in the case of a machine or system; and, in each case, under such conditions as to establish that the invention is being utilized and that its benefits are, to the extent permitted by law or Government regulations, available to the public on reasonable terms.
Subject invention means any invention of the contractor made in the performance of work under a Government contract.