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DoD Agrees To Improve How It Approaches Intellectual Property Under Government Contracts

Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.08.21

In Section 839 of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress directed the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) to prepare a report evaluating the implementation of Department of Defense (“DoD”) Instruction 5010.44 relating to Intellectual Property Acquisition and Licensing, including but not limited to, DoD’s establishment of a cadre of intellectual property (“IP”) experts previously directed by Congress. On November 30, 2021, GAO issued a final report to Congress entitled “DOD Should Take Additional Actions to Improve How It Approaches Intellectual Property” (“Report”). The Report made four recommendations: (1) DoD’s planned guidebook on IP (currently expected to be published in the first quarter of 2022) should clarify how DoD personnel can pursue detailed manufacturing or process data; (2) DoD should determine the collaboration, staffing, and resources needed to execute DoD’s proposed approach for the IP Cadre; (3) the Director of the IP Cadre should collaborate with the President of Defense Acquisition University (“DAU”) to prioritize IP-related tasks that DAU should undertake between 2023 through 2025; and (4) the Director of the IP Cadre should develop additional guidance to help identify the DoD personnel in key career fields that would benefit most from receiving IP training and credentials. In response to a draft of the Report, DoD concurred with each of these recommendations. 

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Client Alert | 1 min read | 11.04.24

OFCCP Invites Federal Contractors to Object to Production of their “Type 2 EEO-1 Reports” in Response to New FOIA Request

On October 29, 2024, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“ ”) published a notice in the Federal Register that it received two requests under the Freedom of Information Act (“ ”) for 2021 Type 2 EEO-1 Reports filed by federal contractors. The two requests came from the University of Utah and a non-profit organization named “As You Sow.” The notified federal contractors that the information might be protected from disclosure under Exemption 4, which protects disclosure of confidential commercial information, and requested that any entities that filed these reports and object to their disclosure submit objections by December 9, 2024. Objectors are strongly encouraged to use the portal. Alternatively, contractors may also submit written objections via email at OFCCPSubmitterResponse@dol.gov, or by mail. ...