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The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA; United States Public Law 104-113) was signed into law March 7, 1996. The Act amended several existing acts and mandated new directions for federal agencies with the purpose of:
- Bringing technology and industrial innovation to market more quickly
- Encouraging cooperative research and development between business and the federal government by providing access to federal laboratories
- Making it easier for businesses to obtain exclusive licenses to technology and inventions that result from cooperative research with the federal government
The NTTAA — along with administrative circular A-119 from the White House Office of Management and Budget — made a direct impact on the development of new industrial and technology standards by requiring that all Federal agencies use privately developed standards, particularly those developed by standards developing organizations accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). In circular A-119 federal agencies were also encouraged to participate in the development of those standards. While discussion continues about how well the US non-government sector is doing to advance national technology strategy continues (see January 17, 2012 White House Memo M-12-08) the US standards system remains the most effective process for advancing national technology and economic priorities for the education university and others.
ANSI is not a standards developing organization itself; it only accredits them according to its Essential Requirements: Due process requirements for American National Standards. ANSI reports to the National Institute of Standards and Technology; a division of the US Department of Commerce; which reports to The President of the United States. Now comes a proposed revision to Section 3.1 of ANSI’s Patent Policy regarding the inclusion of patents in American national standards:
Comments are due by March 26th. You may comment directly to ANSI at this email address: psa@ansi.org. With respect to our higher priorities, we will not be commenting on this redline, though intellectual property and patent policies are high on the agenda of many research universities. We have advocated in other parts of the ANSI Essential Requirements document in the past, however — a history we are happy to explain at any of our weekly Open Door teleconferences every Wednesday, 11 AM Eastern time. Anyone is welcomed to join these discussions with the login information in the link below:
Issue: [11-31]
Contact: Mike Anthony, Jack Janveja, Christine Fischer, Rich Robben
