MERCK INSTITUTE 
FOR THERAPEUTIC RESEARCH 
RAHWAY NSW JERSEY 0706S 
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September 30, 1976 
Dr. Donald S. Frederlckson 
Director, Public Health Service 
Department of Health, Education & Welfare 
National Institutes of Health 
Bethesda, Maryland 2001A 
Dear Dr. Frederlckson: 
Thank you for your letter of September 7, 1976, inviting my comments with respect 
to patents as they relate to the area of recombinant DNA research. 
There can be little dispute that inventions made at public institutions under 
Government-sponsored research constitute a valuable national resource. We share 
your enthusiasm for DHEW's enlightened patent policy concerning the allocation of 
rights to inventions. The incentives provided by the Department's policy have 
encouraged the utilization of inventions arising from DHEW-funded research and 
have fostered the fullest exploitation of such inventions for the public benefit. 
The Institutional Patent Agreement has been particularly effective in the 
successful transfer of grant-supported research to industry and ultimately to 
the marketplace. The impact the Department's IPA program has made on Government 
patent policy is evidenced by a recent announcement by the General Services 
Administration. We were pleased to learn that GSA is proposing to amend the Federal 
Procurement Regulations concerning patents to provide that educational and non- 
profit institutions with an acceptable technology transfer program may retain 
title to inventions made in the course of Government contracts. The GSA proposal 
is to be implemented by adding to the Procurement Regulations provisions virtually 
identical with DHEW's Institutional Patent Agreement. It is apparent that the 
Department's IPA should eventually be utilized by all departments and agencies of 
the executive. 
We should not wish to have the thrust of the Department's IPA program diluted or 
compromised. As responsible members of the scientific community, we appreciate 
your concern that the development of promising new techniques related to recombinant 
DNA technology be safely pursued. However, we believe that the safe conduct of 
this research can be achieved without jeopardizing the highly effective IPA 
program. Although we are of the opinion that patents are not the appropriate 
vehicle to attempt to insure compliance with Government standards or guidelines, we 
recognize that recombinant DNA research presents a unique situation. Accordingly, 
we propose a modification of Option Number A on page 3 of your letter in order to 
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