Each year, Congress presents us in Title VIII of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) a potpourri of procurement reforms, changes, and additions. Some are effective immediately, while some are bound for rulemaking and regulation and surface years from enactment. Some require analyses, reports, and studies which have no immediate impact but provide a roadmap that can and should be used by government contractors in their business planning. Finally, some provisions of the NDAAs just wither away and have no impact whatsoever. Nineteen days before the Trump Administration ended, the US Senate followed the US House of Representatives in overriding the President’s veto of the William (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) (FY2021 NDAA), making it law on January 1, 2021. Happy New Year! As for its Title VIII, the FY2021 NDAA is no different from its predecessors in its procurement potpourri. Here’s a tour of key provisions you oughta know.
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Other Transaction Agreements
Update on the COVID-19 Federal Contractor’s Guide – The Office of Management and Budget Issues Critical Guidance Regarding Federal Contract Performance
On Friday, March 20, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Memorandum No. M-20-18, titled “Managing Federal Contract Performance Issues Associated With The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).” The Memorandum, directed to the heads of all Executive Departments and constituent federal agencies, provides key guidance on maintaining continued contract performance while respecting the need to protect the safety of the contracting community during this unprecedented time. The critical aspects of the Memorandum, accompanied by a contractor “To Do” list, are as follows:
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COVID-19 Federal Contractor’s Guide – Some Quick Points for Surviving and Thriving in This Unprecedented Environment
The spread of the COVID-19 virus and the unprecedented steps taken by federal, state and local authorities to contain it by shutting down or significantly altering normal business operations pose great challenges to government contractors in meeting the needs of their universal customer, the U.S. Government. Work spaces are closed. Supply chains are disrupted. Key employees may no longer be available to oversee critical operations – both on and off U.S. Government installations. Here are some proactive measures that contractors can take now to avoid loss and to maximize the potential of obtaining new business opportunities created by the expected exponential increase in government spending:
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IP Rights Under NASA and DoD “Other Transaction” Agreements—Inventions and Patents
In the August 2018 publication of Thomson Reuters’ Briefing Papers, McCarter & English Government Contracts and Export Controls Partner Dan Kelly provides a comprehensive review of patent rights under “Other Transaction Agreements” (OTAs) with DoD and NASA. Heavily promoted by Congress, and only partially understood by industry, OTAs are quickly becoming DoD’s and NASA’s contractual vehicle of choice to lure commercial companies to sell the Government their latest and greatest technologies. However, OTAs are not governed by standard government contracts laws and regulations, meaning there are significant changes to the common provisions of ownership and license rights incident to government contracts and grants. The Briefing Paper should be required reading before entities enter into an OTA as a vehicle for developing new technologies for NASA and DoD to ensure their company’s intellectual property efforts are properly protected.
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