Bayh-Dole Regulatory Update Offers Clarifications to Federal Grantees and Contractors but Also Raises Specter of Government Interference with Patent Rights

Effective May 1, 2018, newly issued federal government contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements will be subject to revised regulations implementing the Bayh-Dole Act, the federal statute governing title and license rights for inventions developed with federal funding.  The new regulations were issued on April 13, 2018 by the Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a final rule amending 37 C.F.R.