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

FAR 27.305-3 Securing invention rights acquired by the Government.

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 requires agencies to protect the Government's rights in inventions created under contracts. When the Government gets full ownership, the chain of title from inventor to Government must be clearly established, usually through assignments. If the Government only gets a license, a confirmatory document should be used.

Applies to: Agencies and contractors involved in contracts where the Government acquires rights in inventions

What it requires

  • Clearly establish the chain of title from inventor to Government when the Government acquires entire rights.
  • Use an assignment from each inventor to the contractor and from the contractor to the Government, or from the inventor to the Government with contractor consent.
  • Use a confirmatory instrument when the Government's rights are limited to a license.

Key terms: subject inventions · chain of title · assignment · confirmatory instrument · license

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

The text

(a) Agencies are responsible for implementing procedures necessary to protect the Government's interest in subject inventions. When the Government acquires the entire right, title, and interest in an invention by contract, the chain of title from the inventor to the Government shall be clearly established. This is normally accomplished by an assignment either from each inventor to the contractor and from the contractor to the Government, or from the inventor to the Government with the consent of the contractor. When the Government's rights are limited to a license, there should be a confirmatory instrument to that effect.

(b) Agencies may, by supplemental instructions, develop suitable assignments, licenses, and other papers evidencing any rights of the Government in patents or patents applications. These instruments should be recorded in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (see Executive Order 9424, Establishing in the United States Patent Office a Register of Government Interests in Patents and Applications for Patents, (February 18, 1944).

← 27.305-2 Administration by the Government. · 27.305-4 Protection of invention disclosures. →

Rule changes for FAR Part 27

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

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