Information about http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/docs/PL_110-69_Sec_3012_Technology_Innovation_Program.pdf
PUBLIC LAW 11069--AUG.…
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Created: Wed Aug 29 06:38:52 2007
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PUBLIC LAW 11069--AUG. 9, 2007 121 STAT. 593
SEC. 3011. REPORT ON NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND
TECHNOLOGY EFFORTS TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN EARLY
CAREER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING RESEARCHERS.
Not later than 3 months after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology shall submit to the Committee on Science and Tech-
nology of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report
on efforts to recruit and retain young scientists and engineers
at the early stages of their careers at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology laboratories and joint institutes. The
report shall include--
(1) a description of National Institute of Standards and
Technology policies and procedures, including financial incen-
tives, awards, promotions, time set aside for independent
research, access to equipment or facilities, and other forms
of recognition, designed to attract and retain young scientists
and engineers;
(2) an evaluation of the impact of these incentives on
the careers of young scientists and engineers at the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, and also on the quality
of the research at the National Institute of Standards and
Technology's laboratories and in the National Institute of
Standards and Technology's programs;
(3) a description of what barriers, if any, exist to efforts
to recruit and retain young scientists and engineers, including
limited availability of full time equivalent positions, legal and
procedural requirements, and pay grading systems; and
(4) the amount of funding devoted to efforts to recruit
and retain young researchers and the source of such funds.
SEC. 3012. TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION PROGRAM.
(a) REPEAL OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM.--Section 28
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15
U.S.C. 278n) is repealed.
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION PROGRAM.--
The National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C.
271 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 27 the following:
``SEC. 28. TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION PROGRAM. 15 USC 278n.
``(a) ESTABLISHMENT.--There is established within the Institute
a program linked to the purpose and functions of the Institute,
to be known as the `Technology Innovation Program' for the purpose
of assisting United States businesses and institutions of higher
education or other organizations, such as national laboratories and
nonprofit research institutions, to support, promote, and accelerate
innovation in the United States through high-risk, high-reward
research in areas of critical national need.
``(b) EXTERNAL FUNDING.--
``(1) IN GENERAL.--The Director shall award competitive,
merit-reviewed grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts
to--
``(A) eligible companies that are small-sized businesses
or medium-sized businesses; or
``(B) joint ventures.
``(2) SINGLE COMPANY AWARDS.--No award given to a single
company shall exceed $3,000,000 over 3 years.
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121 STAT. 594 PUBLIC LAW 11069--AUG. 9, 2007
``(3) JOINT VENTURE AWARDS.--No award given to a joint
venture shall exceed $9,000,000 over 5 years.
``(4) FEDERAL COST SHARE.--The Federal share of a project
funded by an award under the program shall not be more
than 50 percent of total project costs.
``(5) PROHIBITIONS.--Federal funds awarded under this pro-
gram may be used only for direct costs and not for indirect
costs, profits, or management fees of a contractor. Any business
that is not a small-sized or medium-sized business may not
receive any funding under this program.
``(c) AWARD CRITERIA.--The Director shall only provide assist-
ance under this section to an entity--
``(1) whose proposal has scientific and technical merit and
may result in intellectual property vesting in a United States
entity that can commercialize the technology in a timely
manner;
``(2) whose application establishes that the proposed tech-
nology has strong potential to address critical national needs
through transforming the Nation's capacity to deal with major
societal challenges that are not currently being addressed, and
generate substantial benefits to the Nation that extend signifi-
cantly beyond the direct return to the applicant;
``(3) whose application establishes that the research has
strong potential for advancing the state-of-the-art and contrib-
uting significantly to the United States science and technology
knowledge base;
``(4) whose proposal explains why Technology Innovation
Program support is necessary, including evidence that the
research will not be conducted within a reasonable time period
in the absence of financial assistance under this section;
``(5) whose application demonstrates that reasonable efforts
have been made to secure funding from alternative funding
sources and no other alternative funding sources are reasonably
available to support the proposal; and
``(6) whose application explains the novelty of the tech-
nology and demonstrates that other entities have not already
developed, commercialized, marketed, distributed, or sold
similar technologies.
``(d) COMPETITIONS.--The Director shall solicit proposals at least
annually to address areas of critical national need for high-risk,
high-reward projects.
``(e) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OWNERSHIP.--
``(1) IN GENERAL.--Title to any intellectual property devel-
oped by a joint venture from assistance provided under this
section may vest in any participant in the joint venture, as
agreed by the members of the joint venture, notwithstanding
section 202 (a) and (b) of title 35, United States Code. The
United States may reserve a nonexclusive, nontransferable,
irrevocable paid-up license, to have practice for or on behalf
of the United States in connection with any such intellectual
property, but shall not in the exercise of such license publicly
disclose proprietary information related to the license. Title
to any such intellectual property shall not be transferred or
passed, except to a participant in the joint venture, until the
expiration of the first patent obtained in connection with such
intellectual property.
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PUBLIC LAW 11069--AUG. 9, 2007 121 STAT. 595
``(2) LICENSING.--Nothing in this subsection shall be con-
strued to prohibit the licensing to any company of intellectual
property rights arising from assistance provided under this
section.
``(3) DEFINITION.--For purposes of this subsection, the term
`intellectual property' means an invention patentable under
title 35, United States Code, or any patent on such an invention,
or any work for which copyright protection is available under
title 17, United States Code.
``(f) PROGRAM OPERATION.--Not later than 9 months after the Deadline.
date of the enactment of this section, the Director shall promulgate Regulations.
regulations--
``(1) establishing criteria for the selection of recipients of
assistance under this section;
``(2) establishing procedures regarding financial reporting
and auditing to ensure that awards are used for the purposes
specified in this section, are in accordance with sound
accounting practices, and are not funding existing or planned
research programs that would be conducted within a reasonable
time period in the absence of financial assistance under this
section; and
``(3) providing for appropriate dissemination of Technology
Innovation Program research results.
``(g) ANNUAL REPORT.--The Director shall submit annually to
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate and the Committee on Science and Technology of the House
of Representatives a report describing the Technology Innovation
Program's activities, including a description of the metrics upon
which award funding decisions were made in the previous fiscal
year, any proposed changes to those metrics, metrics for evaluating
the success of ongoing and completed awards, and an evaluation
of ongoing and completed awards. The first annual report shall
include best practices for management of programs to stimulate
high-risk, high-reward research.
``(h) CONTINUATION OF ATP GRANTS.--The Director shall,
through the Technology Innovation Program, continue to provide
support originally awarded under the Advanced Technology Pro-
gram, in accordance with the terms of the original award and
consistent with the goals of the Technology Innovation Program.
``(i) COORDINATION WITH OTHER STATE AND FEDERAL TECH-
NOLOGY PROGRAMS.--In carrying out this section, the Director shall,
as appropriate, coordinate with other senior State and Federal
officials to ensure cooperation and coordination in State and Federal
technology programs and to avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts.
``(j) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS FROM OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.--
In addition to amounts appropriated to carry out this section, the
Secretary and the Director may accept funds from other Federal
agencies to support awards under the Technology Innovation Pro-
gram. Any award under this section which is supported with funds
from other Federal agencies shall be selected and carried out
according to the provisions of this section. Funds accepted from
other Federal agencies shall be included as part of the Federal
cost share of any project funded under this section.
``(k) TIP ADVISORY BOARD.--
``(1) ESTABLISHMENT.--There is established within the
Institute a TIP Advisory Board.
``(2) MEMBERSHIP.--
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121 STAT. 596 PUBLIC LAW 11069--AUG. 9, 2007
``(A) IN GENERAL.--The TIP Advisory Board shall con-
sist of 10 members appointed by the Director, at least
7 of whom shall be from United States industry, chosen
to reflect the wide diversity of technical disciplines and
industrial sectors represented in Technology Innovation
Program projects. No member shall be an employee of
the Federal Government.
``(B) TERM.--Except as provided in subparagraph (C)
or (D), the term of office of each member of the TIP
Advisory Board shall be 3 years.
``(C) CLASSES.--The original members of the TIP
Advisory Board shall be appointed to 3 classes. One class
of 3 members shall have an initial term of 1 year, one
class of 3 members shall have an initial term of 2 years,
and one class of 4 members shall have an initial term
of 3 years.
``(D) VACANCIES.--Any member appointed to fill a
vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for
which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed
for the remainder of such term.
``(E) SERVING CONSECUTIVE TERMS.--Any person who
has completed 2 consecutive full terms of service on the
TIP Advisory Board shall thereafter be ineligible for
appointment during the 1-year period following the expira-
tion of the second such term.
``(3) PURPOSE.--The TIP Advisory Board shall meet not
less than 2 times annually, and provide the Director--
``(A) advice on programs, plans, and policies of the
Technology Innovation Program;
``(B) reviews of the Technology Innovation Program's
efforts to accelerate the research and development of chal-
lenging, high-risk, high-reward technologies in areas of
critical national need;
``(C) reports on the general health of the program and
its effectiveness in achieving its legislatively mandated mis-
sion; and
``(D) guidance on investment areas that are appropriate
for Technology Innovation Program funding;
``(4) ADVISORY CAPACITY.--In discharging its duties under
this subsection, the TIP Advisory Board shall function solely
in an advisory capacity, in accordance with the Federal
Advisory Committee Act.
``(5) ANNUAL REPORT.--The TIP Advisory Board shall
transmit an annual report to the Secretary for transmittal
to the Congress not later than 30 days after the submission
to Congress of the President's annual budget request in each
year. Such report shall address the status of the Technology
Innovation Program and comment on the relevant sections
of the programmatic planning document and updates thereto
transmitted to Congress by the Director under subsections (c)
and (d) of section 23.
``(l) DEFINITIONS.--In this section--
``(1) the term `eligible company' means a small-sized or
medium-sized business that is incorporated in the United States
and does a majority of its business in the United States, and
that either--
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PUBLIC LAW 11069--AUG. 9, 2007 121 STAT. 597
``(A) is majority owned by citizens of the United States;
or
``(B) is owned by a parent company incorporated in
another country and the Director finds that--
``(i) the company's participation in the Technology
Innovation Program would be in the economic interest
of the United States, as evidenced by--
``(I) investments in the United States in
research and manufacturing;
``(II) significant contributions to employment
in the United States; and
``(III) agreement with respect to any tech-
nology arising from assistance provided under this
section to promote the manufacture within the
United States of products resulting from that tech-
nology; and
``(ii) the company is incorporated in a country
which--
``(I) affords to United States-owned companies
opportunities, comparable to those afforded to any
other company, to participate in any joint venture
similar to those receiving funding under this sec-
tion;
``(II) affords to United States-owned companies
local investment opportunities comparable to those
afforded any other company; and
``(III) affords adequate and effective protection
for intellectual property rights of United States-
owned companies;
``(2) the term `high-risk, high-reward research' means
research that--
``(A) has the potential for yielding transformational
results with far-ranging or wide-ranging implications;
``(B) addresses critical national needs within the
National Institute of Standards and Technology's areas
of technical competence; and
``(C) is too novel or spans too diverse a range of dis-
ciplines to fare well in the traditional peer-review process;
``(3) the term `institution of higher education' has the
meaning given that term in section 101 of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001);
``(4) the term `joint venture' means a joint venture that--
``(A) includes either--
``(i) at least 2 separately owned for-profit compa-
nies that are both substantially involved in the project
and both of which are contributing to the cost-sharing
required under this section, with the lead entity of
the joint venture being one of those companies that
is a small-sized or medium-sized business; or
``(ii) at least 1 small-sized or medium-sized busi-
ness and 1 institution of higher education or other
organization, such as a national laboratory or nonprofit
research institute, that are both substantially involved
in the project and both of which are contributing to
the cost-sharing required under this section, with the
lead entity of the joint venture being either that small-
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121 STAT. 598 PUBLIC LAW 11069--AUG. 9, 2007
sized or medium-sized business or that institution of
higher education; and
``(B) may include additional for-profit companies,
institutions of higher education, and other organizations,
such as national laboratories and nonprofit research
institutes, that may or may not contribute non-Federal
funds to the project; and
``(5) the term `TIP Advisory Board' means the advisory
board established under subsection (k).''.
15 USC 278n (c) TRANSITION.--Notwithstanding the repeal made by sub-
note. section (a), the Director shall carry out section 28 of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278n) as
such section was in effect on the day before the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, with respect to applications for grants under
such section submitted before such date, until the earlier of--
(1) the date that the Director promulgates the regulations
required under section 28(f) of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology Act, as added by subsection (b); or
(2) December 31, 2007.
SEC. 3013. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE
OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY ACT AND OTHER
TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
(a) RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS.--Section 18 of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278gl) is
amended by striking ``up to 1 per centum of the'' and inserting
``up to 1.5 percent of the''.
(b) FINANCIAL AGREEMENTS CLARIFICATION.--Section 2(b)(4) of
the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C.
272(b)(4)) is amended by inserting ``and grants and cooperative
agreements,'' after ``arrangements,''.
(c) OUTDATED SPECIFICATIONS.--
(1) REDEFINITION OF THE METRIC SYSTEM.--Section 3570
of the Revised Statutes of the United States (derived from
section 2 of the Act of July 28, 1866, entitled ``An Act to
authorize the Use of the Metric System of Weights and Meas-
ures'' (15 U.S.C. 205; 14 Stat. 339)) is amended to read as
follows:
15 USC 205. ``SEC. 3570. METRIC SYSTEM DEFINED.
``The metric system of measurement shall be defined as the
International System of Units as established in 1960, and subse-
quently maintained, by the General Conference of Weights and
Measures, and as interpreted or modified for the United States
by the Secretary of Commerce.''.
(2) REPEAL OF REDUNDANT AND OBSOLETE AUTHORITY.--
The Act of July 21, 1950, entitled, ``An Act To redefine the
units and establish the standards of electrical and photometric
measurements.'' (15 U.S.C. 223 and 224) is hereby repealed.
(3) STANDARD TIME.--Section 1 of the Act of March 19,
1918, (commonly known as the ``Calder Act'') (15 U.S.C. 261)
is amended--
(A) by inserting ``(a) IN GENERAL.--'' before ``For the
purpose'';
(B) by striking the second sentence and the extra period
after it and inserting ``Except as provided in section 3(a)
of the Uniform Time Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C. 260a), the
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