Incentives

The Technology Transfer Act (Section 13) specifically provides for rewards for scientific, engineering, and technical personnel of Federal agencies.

Agencies can develop policies to implement cash awards for

• inventions, innovations, or other outstanding scientific or technological contributions of value to the United States due to commercial application or due to contributions to the Federal agency or the the Federal government.
  
  
• exemplary activities that promote the domestic transfer of science and technology development within the government and result in the utilization of such science and technology by American business, universities, state or local governments, or other non-Federal parties.
  

Under Section 15, which concerns employee activities, it is stated that when the Federal agency has the right of ownership to an invention and does not intend to file for a patent to promote commercialization, the agency must allow the inventor to retain title to the invention, assuming the inventor is a Federal employee or former employee who made the invention while employed by the government.

Investigator

Transfer Officer

Center Director