Congress Proposes Changes to Technical Data Rights Statutes

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, presently before the President for signature, includes a number of important procedural and substantive changes to the treatment of technical data rights.  For example, in addition to lengthening the time period for which the U.S. can challenge a contractor’s assertion of a technical data use or release restriction from 3 to 6 years, the bill would also permit the U.S. to release or disclose technical data outside the government if such release or disclosure “is necessary for the segregation of an item or process from, or the reintegration of that item or process (or a physically or functionally equivalent item or process) with, other items or processes[.]”