10 U.S.C. § 1707 — Cadre of intellectual property experts

Page 1557 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 1707 Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2021 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 117–81 applicable as if in- cluded in the enactment of title XVIII of Pub. L. 116–283 as enacted, see section 1701(a)(2) of Pub. L. 117–81, set out in a note preceding section 3001 of this title and note below. Amendment by section 1846(i)(3) of Pub. L. 116–283 ef- fective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for de- layed implementation and applicability of existing law, see section 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title. SIMILAR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to this section were contained in section 820 of Pub. L. 109–364, which was set out as a note under section 1701 of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title VIII, § 824(b), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1833. § 1707. Cadre of intellectual property experts (a) CADRE.—The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Ac- quisition and Sustainment, shall establish a cadre of personnel who are experts in intellec- tual property matters. The purpose of the cadre is to ensure a consistent, strategic, and highly knowledgeable approach to acquiring or licens- ing intellectual property by providing expert ad- vice, assistance, and resources to the acquisition workforce on intellectual property matters, in- cluding acquiring or licensing intellectual prop- erty. (b) LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE.—The Under Sec- retary— (1) shall establish an appropriate leadership structure and office within which the cadre shall be managed; and (2) shall determine the appropriate official to whom members of the cadre shall report. (c) DUTIES.—The cadre of experts shall be as- signed to a program office or an acquisition command within a military department to ad- vise, assist, and provide resources to a program manager or program executive officer on intel- lectual property matters at various stages of the life cycle of a system. In performing such duties, the experts shall— (1) interpret and provide counsel on laws, regulations, and policies relating to intellec- tual property; (2) advise and assist in the development of an acquisition strategy, product support strat- egy, and intellectual property strategy for a system; (3) conduct or assist with financial analysis and valuation of intellectual property; (4) assist in the drafting of a solicitation, contract, or other transaction; (5) interact with or assist in interactions with contractors, including communications and negotiations with contractors on solicita- tions and awards; and (6) conduct or assist with mediation if tech- nical data delivered pursuant to a contract is incomplete or does not comply with the terms of agreements. (d) ADMINISTRATION.— (1) In order to achieve the purpose set forth in subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall ensure the cadre has the appropriate number of staff and such staff possesses the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to carry out the duties under subsection (b), including in relevant areas of law, contracting, acquisition, logistics, engineering, financial analysis, and valuation. The Under Secretary, in coordina- tion with the Defense Acquisition University and in consultation with academia and indus- try, shall develop a career path, including de- velopment opportunities, exchanges, talent management programs, and training, for the cadre. The Under Secretary may use existing authorities to staff the cadre, including those in paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (6). (2) Civilian personnel from within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, mili- tary departments, Defense Agencies, and com- batant commands may be assigned to serve as members of the cadre, upon request of the Di- rector. (3) The Under Secretary may use the au- thorities for highly qualified experts under section 9903 of title 5, to hire experts as mem- bers of the cadre who are skilled professionals in intellectual property and related matters. (4) The Under Secretary may enter into a contract with a private-sector entity for spe- cialized expertise to support the cadre. Such entity may be considered a covered Govern- ment support contractor, as defined in section 3775(a) of this title. (5) In establishing the cadre, the Under Sec- retary shall give preference to civilian em- ployees of the Department of Defense, rather than members of the armed forces, to main- tain continuity in the cadre. (6) The Under Secretary is authorized to use amounts in the Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund for the purpose of recruit- ment, training, and retention of the cadre, in- cluding paying salaries of newly hired mem- bers of the cadre for up to three years. (Added and amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1877, Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4291.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 1707, added Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title XII, § 1202(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1639; amended Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title IX, § 904(d)(1), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1728; Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title X, § 1048(b)(2), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1225, related to personnel in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and in the Defense Agencies, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 108–136, div. A, title VIII, § 831(a), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1549. CODIFICATION The text of subsec. (b) of section 2322 of title, which was transferred to this section and amended by Pub. L. 116–283, § 1877(b)–(e), was based on Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VIII, § 802(a)(1), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1450. AMENDMENTS 2021—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1877(b)(1), redesig- nated subsec. (b)(1) of section 2322 of this title as sub- sec. (a) of this section and inserted heading. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1877(b)(3), (c), redesig- nated subsec. (b)(2) of section 2322 of this title as sub- sec. (b) of this section, inserted heading, inserted dash after ‘‘Secretary’’, and reorganized remainder of text into designated pars. (1) and (2). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1877(b)(3), (d), redesig- nated subsec. (b)(3) of section 2322 of this title as sub- Page 1558 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 1707 sec. (c) of this section, inserted heading, and redesig- nated subpars. (A) to (F) as pars. (1) to (6), respectively. Amendment by section 1877(d) was executed to subsec. (c) of this section to reflect the probable intent of Con- gress, notwithstanding directory language amending subsec. (c) of section ‘‘17017’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1877(b)(3), (e)(1), (2), re- designated subsec. (b)(4) of section 2322 of this title as subsec. (d) of this section, inserted heading, and redes- ignated subpars. (A) to (F) as pars. (1) to (6), respec- tively. Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1877(e)(3), in first sen- tence, substituted ‘‘subsection (a)’’ for ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and ‘‘subsection (b)’’ for ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and, in third sentence, substituted ‘‘paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (6)’’ for ‘‘subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), and (F)’’. Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1877(e)(4), substituted ‘‘section 3775(a)’’ for ‘‘section 2320’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section and amendment by Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed im- plementation and applicability of existing law, see sec- tion 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as an Effective Date of 2021 Amendment note preceding section 3001 of this title. PILOT PROGRAM ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY EVALUATION FOR ACQUISITION PROGRAMS Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title VIII, § 801, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1481, provided that: ‘‘(a) PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 20, 2019], the Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of the mili- tary departments may jointly carry out a pilot pro- gram to assess mechanisms to evaluate intellectual property (such as technical data deliverables and asso- ciated license rights), including commercially available intellectual property valuation analysis and tech- niques, in acquisition programs for which each such Secretary is responsible to better understand the bene- fits associated with these mechanisms on— ‘‘(1) the development of cost-effective intellectual property strategies; ‘‘(2) the assessment and management of the value and acquisition costs of intellectual property during acquisition and sustainment activities (including source selection evaluation factors) throughout the acquisition lifecycle for any acquisition program se- lected by such Secretary; and ‘‘(3) the use of a commercial product (as defined in section 103 of title 41, United States Code, as in effect on January 1, 2020), commercial service (as defined in section 103a of title 41, United States Code, as in ef- fect on January 1, 2020), or nondevelopmental item (as defined in section 110 of title 41, United States Code) as an alternative to a product or service to be specifically developed for a selected acquisition pro- gram, including evaluation of the benefits of reduced risk regarding cost, schedule, and performance asso- ciated with commercial products, commercial serv- ices, and nondevelopmental items. ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—Activities carried out under the pilot program may include the following: ‘‘(1) Establishment of a team of Department of De- fense and private sector subject matter experts (which may include the cadre of intellectual property experts established under section 2322(b) of title 10, United States Code [see 10 U.S.C. 1707]) to— ‘‘(A) recommend acquisition programs to be se- lected for the pilot program established under sub- section (a); ‘‘(B) recommend criteria for the consideration of types of commercial products, commercial services, or nondevelopmental items that can used as an al- ternative to a product or service to be specifically developed for a selected acquisition program; or ‘‘(C) identify, to the maximum extent practicable at each milestone established for each selected ac- quisition program, intellectual property evaluation techniques to obtain quantitative and qualitative analysis of intellectual property during the pro- curement, production and deployment, and oper- ations and support phases for the [sic] each selected acquisition program. ‘‘(2) Assessment of commercial valuation tech- niques for intellectual property for use by the De- partment of Defense. ‘‘(3) Assessment of the feasibility of agency-level oversight to standardize intellectual property evalua- tion practices and procedures. ‘‘(4) Assessment of contracting mechanisms to speed delivery of intellectual property to the Armed Forces or reduce sustainment costs. ‘‘(5) Assessment of agency acquisition planning to ensure procurement of appropriate intellectual prop- erty deliverables and intellectual property rights necessary for Government-planned sustainment ac- tivities. ‘‘(6) Engagement with the private sector to— ‘‘(A) support the development of strategies and program requirements to aid in acquisition plan- ning for intellectual property; ‘‘(B) support the development and improvement of intellectual property strategies as part of life- cycle sustainment plans; and ‘‘(C) propose and implement alternative and inno- vative methods of intellectual property valuation, prioritization, and evaluation techniques for intel- lectual property. ‘‘(7) Recommendations to the relevant program manager of an acquisition program selected under subsection (a), including evaluation techniques and contracting mechanisms for acquisition and sustainment activities. ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than November 1, 2020, and annually thereafter through November 1, 2023, the Sec- retary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretaries concerned, shall submit to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Ap- propriations of the Senate and the House of Represent- atives] a joint report on the pilot program conducted under this section. The report shall, at a minimum, in- clude— ‘‘(1) a description of the acquisition programs se- lected by the Secretary concerned; ‘‘(2) a description of the specific activities in sub- section (c) that were performed under each program; ‘‘(3) an assessment of the effectiveness of the activi- ties; ‘‘(4) an assessment of improvements to acquisition or sustainment activities related to the pilot pro- gram; and ‘‘(5) an assessment of the results related to the pilot program, including any cost savings and im- provement to mission success during the operations and support phase of the selected acquisition pro- gram.’’ SUBCHAPTER II—ACQUISITION POSITIONS AND ACQUISITION WORKFORCE CAREER FIELDS Sec. 1721. Designation of acquisition positions and ac- quisition workforce career fields. 1722. Career development. 1722a. Special requirements for military personnel in the acquisition field. 1722b. Special requirements for civilian employees in the acquisition field. 1723. General education, training, and experience requirements. 1724. Contracting positions: qualification require- ments. 1725. Senior Military Acquisition Advisors.