The Department of Defense (DoD) has issued a final rule to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), addressing data rights under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. This rule establishes a 20-year data protection period, after which the government gains perpetual rights for government purposes, rather than unlimited rights. It also reinforces protections for small business intellectual property, specifying the conditions and limitations for marking and asserting rights on technical data and computer software. The rule applies to contracts including those at or below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold and introduces new clauses for STTR-specific preaward and postaward requirements.
Simple Explanation
The Defense Department has made new rules about sharing and protecting ideas from small businesses, like keeping drawings or software private for 20 years so big companies can’t just take them. After 20 years, the government can use them, but only for things that it needs, kind of like making sure everyone plays fair.