Text table 4-8. Principal federal legislation related to cooperative technology programs

Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act (1980). Required federal laboratories to facilitate the transfer of federally owned and originated technology to state and local governments and to the private sector. The Act includes a requirement that each federal laboratory spend a specified percentage of its R&D budget on transfer activities and that an Office of Research and Technology Application be established to facilitate such transfer.

Bayh-Dole University and Small Business Patent Act (1980). Permitted government grantees and contractors to retain title to federally funded inventions and encouraged universities to license inventions to industry. The Act is designed to foster interactions between academia and the business community. This law provided, in part, for title to inventions made by contractors receiving federal R&D funds to be vested in the contractor if they are small businesses, universities, or not-for-profit institutions.

Small Business Innovation Development Act (1982). Established the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program within the major federal R&D agencies to increase government funding of research with commercialization potential in the small high-technology company sector. Each federal agency with an R&D budget of $100 million or more is required to set aside a certain percentage of that amount to finance the SBIR effort.

National Cooperative Research Act (1984). Encouraged U.S. firms to collaborate on generic, precompetitive research by establishing a rule of reason for evaluating the antitrust implications of research joint ventures. The Act was amended in 1993 by the National Cooperative Research and Production Act, which let companies collaborate on production as well as research activities.

Federal Technology Transfer Act (1986). Amended the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act to authorize cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) between federal laboratories and other entities, including state agencies.

Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act (1988). Established the Competitiveness Policy Council to develop recommendations for national strategies and specific policies to enhance industrial competitiveness. The Act created several new programs, including the Advanced Technology Program and the Manufacturing Technology Centers in the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology to help U.S. companies become more competitive.

National Competitiveness Technology Transfer Act (1989). Part of the Department of Defense authorization bill, this act amended the Stevenson-Wydler Act to allow government-owned, contractor-operated laboratories to enter into cooperative R&D agreements.

Defense Conversion, Reinvestment, and Transition Assistance Act (1992). Initiated the Technology Reinvestment Project to establish cooperative, interagency efforts that address the technology development, deployment, and education and training needs within both the commercial and defense communities.

SOURCE: C. Coburn, ed., Partnerships: A Compendium of State and Federal Cooperative Technology Programs (Columbus, OH: Battelle Press, 1995).