DISCUSSION OF SCIENCE LEGISLATION 23 



Consider, for example, a case in which an industry has already made 

 great contributions in the development of special steels for jet propulsion 

 turbines that will operate at the exceptionally high temperatures and 

 stresses needed in these devices. Suppose now the laboratory undertakes 

 to do work on a contract with the Foundation and that in the course of 

 this work, a new and greatly improved steel is developed that results in 

 revolutionary improvements. According to the Kilgore Bill the commercial 

 rights for using this alloy for, let us say, a locomotive which uses a gas 

 turbine, would pass to the government and all competitors of the contract- 

 ing industry would have free use of the improvement. The laboratory 

 would thus have "sold its birth right for a mess of pottage." 



There are, however, cases where industrial laboratories might willingly 

 agree that all patent rights should go to the government. For example, in 

 projects such as those involving atomic energy, the rights clearly should 

 reside in the government. 



The Kilgore bill, however, attempts to prejudice all such cases. The 

 suggestion has been made that if the laboratory can prove that "undue 

 hardship" has resulted from government ownership of a patent acquired 

 in the course of the work, some kind of an adjustment may be made. I 

 am sure that such a provision would be wholly unacceptable to industry. 



It should be the basis of any contract, freely entered into, that both 

 parties contribute to the project. The government gives merely money; 

 the laboratory gives something usually inherently more precious — knowl- 

 edge, experience, and know-how. 



The Magnuson Bill by omitting any provision on patents places the 

 Foundation in the time-tested position of other government agencies, such 

 as the OSRD. For each project a patent clause can be included in the 

 contract that is applicable to the particular case considered. On the basis 

 of the Magnuson bill the Foundation would thus meet no serious patent 

 obstacles in placing its contracts in accord with sound policies of public 

 interest. 

 A Word on Organization of the Foundation. 



The Kilgore bill provides an "in line organization." It aims at an 

 essentially political control of science. 



A science program to be efficient must be planned by scientists. It must 

 be based upon cooperation between scientists, administrators, and govern- 

 ment. It must furthermore be a long range program. The provisions of the 

 Magnuson Bill are far better. I believe, however, that much is to be gained 

 by placing responsibility upon scientists. 



I would, therefore, like to suggest an amendment to Section 3 of the 

 Magnuson Bill by which roughly half the Board members would be chosen 

 from a suitable panel nominated by the National Academy of Sciences. 



