On assignment of patent rights on inventions made under government research contracts

Of the fifteen billion dollars spent throughout the United States economy in fiscal 1962 on research and development, less than one-third was supplied by private business and more than two-thirds by the federal government. If Congress continues to support the present ambitious space program, the federal share of total research and development expenditures will make up an even larger proportion in years to come. Approximately two-thirds of publicly financed research is done through contracts with private industry, about 10 per cent through grants and contracts with universities and other non-profit institutions, and the remainder within various governmental departments. ¹ Approximately 60 per cent of the funds spent on research and development in industrial laboratories in that year were supplied by the Government, and that governmental share is steadily increasing. ²