What do you really know about the data and software rights your engineers may well be giving up every day through Integrated Data Environments, Integrated Products Teams, the Cloud and such?Probably not enough, suggests Jay DeVecchio in an article forThe Government Contractordiscussing the hidden risks posed by daily interactions with the government on activities bearing innocuous acronyms (IPT, IDE, SaaS, DAL), and by increasingly aggressive contract "H" Clauses:"During the past several years, industry has seen various legislative and regulatory pushes by the Department of Defense (DOD) to acquire more and broader rights in technical data and all forms of computer software. Some of this will come to fruition soon in the form of long-awaited revisions to the Defense Federal acquisition Regulation Supplement data rights clauses."
Jay cautioned: "But we do not have to await the effects of those pending developments, because subtle (or unrecognized) risks already exist and are increasing, in the familiar form of routine collaboration with DOD as well as more aggressive and burdensome 'H' clauses in solicitations and contracts."
Read the full article.
Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
© Morrison & Foerster LLP. All rights reserved
