-3- 
Dr. Ancker-Johnson explained that the Order requires the foreign inventor 
to adhere to either the Guidelines or to standards which are equivalent to 
the Guidelines. The State Department representative noted that this 
might provoke protests from these inventors, and Dr. Fredrickson pointed 
out that most western European countries are following the United Kingdom 
Guidelines. These Guidelines are comparable, but not identical, to the 
NIH Guidelines. Dr. Ancker-Johnson responded that foreign inventors could 
still file patent applications through the normal process if they could 
or would not abide by the NIH Guidelines or their equivalent. 
The NIH Guidelines establish a number of procedural mechanisms for safety 
review, and Dr. Fredrickson asked how the Commerce Department intended to 
implement these requirements. Dr. Ancker-Johnson stated that provisions 
of the Order on this matter are self-executing; namely, the accuracy of 
statements by the inventor will be relied on by the Commerce Department, 
but misrepresentations may imperil patent rights if challenged by another 
party, and misrepresentations are also subject to criminal penalties under 
United States law. 
3. Exemptions from Adherence to the NIH Guidelines for Proprietary 
Information on Patent Rights 
Dr. Fredrickson questioned the effect of exemptions for patent rights and 
proprietary information on compliance with the NIH Guidelines. Dr. Ancker- 
Johnson stated that the inventor defines that which is proprietary or 
patentable, but the Patent Office would review such statements in light 
of the NIH standards. The initial determination for exemption would, 
however, lie with the inventor. Dr. Fredrickson expressed concern that 
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