Page 2 - Dr . Robert M. Rosenzweig 
agreements with the universities. Each agreement, however, will 
be amended to permit the institution to grant a license under patents 
secured on any such invention only if the licensee provides assurance 
of compliance with the physical and biological containment standards 
set forth in the Guidelines in any production or use of recombinant 
DNA molecules under the license. In my view, the requirements set 
for NIH grantees and contractors will thus be honored by licensees 
as well. 
Accordingly, Stanford may proceed to file recombinant DNA research 
patent applications. You should know that Federal patent policies 
are under extensive review by the Executive Branch and the Congress, 
and that this may lead to actions affecting the administration of 
institutional patent agreements generally and other conditions for 
recombinant DNA research inventions specifically. For the present, 
however, recombinant DNA research inventions should not be handled 
differently under current institutional patent agreements, except 
for the requirement that licencees agree to comply with containment 
standards set forth in the NIH Guidelines. 
I regret the long period of time required to review patent policies 
involving recombinant DNA research, but the complexity of the issues 
necessitated an extended analysis. Your letter stimulated a thorough 
and much needed policy review. I appreciate your interest and patience. 
Sincerely yours, 
Donald S. Fredrickson, M.D. 
Director 
Enc losure 
[IB] 
