TIMELY DETERMINATION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS IN INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES

SEC. 3135. TIMELY DETERMINATION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS IN INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES (a) Deadline for Waiver Decision.—Section 3131(a) of the Department of Energy National Security and Military Applications of Nuclear Energy Authorization Act of 1987 (title I of division C of Public Law 99–661; 100 Stat. 4061) is amended— (1)by inserting “(1)” before “Whenever any contractor”; (2)by striking out the last sentence; and (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: “(2) Such decision shall be made within 150 days after the date on which a complete request for waiver of such rights has been submit-101 STAT. 1241ted to the Secretary by the contractor. For purposes of this paragraph, a complete request includes such information, in such detail and form, as the Secretary by regulation prescribes as necessary to allow the Secretary to take into consideration the matters described in subsection (b) in making the decision. “(3) If the Secretary fails to make the decision within such 150-day period, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate, within 10 days after the end of the 150-day period, a report on the reasons for such failure. The submission of such report shall not relieve the Secretary of the requirement to make the decision under this section. The Secretary shall, at the end of each 30-day period after submission of the first report during which the Secretary continues to fail to make the decision required by this section, submit another report on the reasons for such failure to the committees listed in this paragraph.”. (b) Effective Date.—Paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 3131(a) of the Department of Energy National Security and Military Applications of Nuclear Energy Authorization Act of 1987 (as added by subsection (a)) shall apply with respect to waiver requests submitted by contractors under that section after March 1, 1988.