FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 27: Patents, Data, and Copyrights › Subpart 27.3

FAR 27.301 Definitions.

The codified text (eCFR, as of 2026-10-02). Under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul ↗, agencies follow class deviations with new text for many parts while the formal rules go through the Federal Register: check the solicitation and your contract's clauses, which rule.

In plain English

This section defines key terms used in the FAR subpart on patents, data, and copyrights. It explains what counts as an invention, when an invention is 'made,' and what types of organizations are considered nonprofit. Contractors should know these definitions because they determine rights and obligations related to inventions created under Government contracts.

Applies to: Contractors and contracting officers involved with inventions made under Government contracts

Key terms: Invention · Made · Nonprofit organization · Practical application · Subject invention

Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.

The text

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 (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 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)) and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (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.

← 27.300 Scope of subpart. · 27.302 Policy. →

Rule changes for FAR Part 27

Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.

FAR 27.301 Definitions · SpendQuery