Energy
Secretary Steven Chu recently announced that eight of the Department’s
national laboratories will participate in a pilot initiative to make it
easier for private companies to utilize the laboratories’ research
capabilities. The program is intended to harness America’s unique
advantages in innovation to create jobs and accelerate the development
of new clean energy technologies.
“The
Agreements for Commercializing Technology will cut red tape for
businesses and startups interested in working with our nation’s crown
jewels of innovation, the national laboratories,” said Energy Secretary
Steven Chu. “This initiative will also strengthen new domestic
industries by helping to bring innovative, job-creating technologies to
the market faster.”
Previously,
companies wishing to partner with the laboratories for commercial
research had two options: signing a Cooperative Research and Development
Agreement (CRADA) or a Work For Others (WFO) Agreement. The eight
laboratories participating in this pilot program intend to offer a
third, more flexible option: an Agreement for Commercializing Technology
(ACT).
ACT
was created to address concerns that have been raised by industry and
to remove barriers that sometimes got in the way of commercializing
technology under a CRADA or WFO agreement. Specifically, under an ACT:
- There
will be more flexibility in negotiating over the intellectual property
rights for technologies created at the laboratory. While the labs
generally have had limited flexibility on IP terms under CRADAs and WFO
arrangements, an ACT will allow both parties to develop a specialized
arrangement that will facilitate moving the technology into the
marketplace as quickly as possible. - More
flexible terms are also available on other issues ranging from payment
arrangements to project structures to indemnification. The goal is to
develop terms that are better aligned with industry practice. - Whereas
WFO arrangements and CRADAs tend to be tailored for two-party
agreements between one company and a lab, an ACT will make it easier to
develop a multi-party research and development partnership. Groups of
companies, universities and/or other entities may come together with a
laboratory to address complex technological challenges that are of
mutual interest.
The participating labs are:
- Ames Laboratory
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Idaho National Laboratory
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Savannah River National Laboratory
DOE’s
laboratories have a long tradition of working with businesses and
academia on scientific research and technology development efforts that
have generated many advances, spawned new businesses and supported the
creation of new industries and jobs.
ACT
complements the goals of the Administration’s “Startup America”
initiative and is part of DOE’s broader efforts to support startups and
small businesses, including the “America’s Next Top Energy Innovator”
Challenge, which gives startup companies access to the Energy
Department’s thousands of unlicensed patents at a greatly reduced cost
and paperwork.
