The Bayh-Dole Act allows agencies to ask for periodic reports on the utilization or attempts at obtaining the utilization of subject inventions. Utilization reporting provides funding agencies with valuable information on the outputs of their extramural research programs. They allow the agencies to track successes, ensure compliance with specific statutory requirements, and realize the full impact of federal funding and the return on investment for taxpayer investment in research. In the past, some agencies would ask for these utilization reports regularly via iEdison at the end of the contractor's/awardee's fiscal year, while others might ask for them outside of iEdison on an ad hoc basis. Recently the Interagency Working Group for Bayh-Dole (IAWGBD) has agreed to make specific changes in utilization reporting.
All Agency Participation in iEdison
Starting on October 1, 2023, all agencies participating in iEdison will begin asking for annual utilization reporting. Users will see notifications requesting utilization reports on all subject inventions to which they have elected titles, regardless of the funding agency, starting on that date. iEdison will not trigger utilization notifications retroactively for inventions funded by agencies who did not previously ask for utilization reporting within the iEdison system. The IAWGBD is developing a standard set of questions to be asked by every participating agency. However, each agency can ask for supplemental questions related to inventions made with funding from that agency. The standard questions are modeled after the existing iEdison utilization questions. They will be announced in the coming weeks to allow contractors/awardees adequate time to gather any needed information and update their internal records and databases accordingly. The new utilization questions will also be timely published in the Federal Register and reviewed by OMB as required under the Paperwork Reduction Act. NIST is updating the utilization functionality in the iEdison system to make entry of the new utilization reporting as streamlined as possible.
Agencies not currently participating in iEdison are strongly encouraged to ask for utilization reporting beginning on October 1, 2023.
Timing of Utilization Reporting
All annual utilization reporting will be due on October 1st, aligning with the federal fiscal year instead of the individual contractor's/awardee's fiscal year. Under regulations at 37 CFR 401.14(h), utilization reporting can be requested no more than annually. Therefore, the iEdison system is not sending new notifications for utilization reporting with due dates between October 2, 2022, and September 30, 2023. The system will continue to send notifications for utilization reporting due before October 2, 2022. The previous due dates for those overdue utilization reports due before October 2, 2022) will remain aligned with the contactor's/awardee's fiscal year.
NIST will be providing additional information on the changes in utilization reporting leading up to the implementation on October 1, 2023.
