FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 27: Patents, Data, and Copyrights › Subpart 27.4
FAR 27.403 Data rights—General.
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 every contract that involves data to include terms defining the Government's and contractor's rights regarding use, reproduction, and disclosure of that data. The data rights clauses only cover rights, not the type, quantity, or quality of data to be delivered, so the contract itself must specify what data is to be delivered.
Applies to: Contracts that require data to be produced, furnished, acquired, or used in meeting contract performance requirements
What it requires
- Include terms in the contract that delineate the respective rights and obligations of the Government and the contractor regarding the use, reproduction, and disclosure of data
- Specify in the contract the data to be delivered
Key terms: data rights clauses · use · reproduction · disclosure · data to be delivered
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
All contracts that require data to be produced, furnished, acquired, or used in meeting contract performance requirements, must contain terms that delineate the respective rights and obligations of the Government and the contractor regarding the use, reproduction, and disclosure of that data. Data rights clauses do not specify the type, quantity or quality of data that is to be delivered, but only the respective rights of the Government and the contractor regarding the use, disclosure, or reproduction of the data. Accordingly, the contract shall specify the data to be delivered.
← 27.402 Policy. · 27.404 Basic rights in data clause. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 27
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 9, 27, and 47 ↗ · proposed 2026-09-18 · comments due 2026-10-19
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer Programs ↗ · proposed 2025-06-12
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Controlled Unclassified Information ↗ · proposed 2025-01-15 · comments due 2025-03-17
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.