BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2880
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Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2880 (Committee on Judiciary) - As Amended March 15, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill enhances the state's existing rules, processes, and
procedures related to state-funded intellectual property and
provides additional guidance to state agencies to manage and
protect the state's intellectual property. Specifically, this
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bill:
1)Requires the Department of General Services (DGS), when
developing factors for state agencies that decide to sell or
license intellectual property, to include considerations of
the state's best interest, maintaining public access, and the
discouragement of unauthorized economic gain.
2)Provides that state contracts entered into after January 1,
2017:
a) Shall not waive the state's intellectual property rights
unless the state agency, prior to execution of the
contract, obtains the consent of DGS to the waiver, and
b) An attempted waiver of the state's intellectual property
rights by a state agency that violates (2)(a) shall be
deemed void as against public policy.
1)Provides that a public entity may own, license, and if it
deems it appropriate, formally register intellectual property
it creates or otherwise requires, and provides that a public
entity's intellectual property right shall not preclude the
public entity from disclosing any information otherwise
accessible under the California Public Records Act (CPRA).
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)DGS leads the state's Intellectual Property Work Group, which
is developing policies, procedures, and processes to implement
existing law regarding intellectual property. The incremental
workload associated with implementing this bill will therefore
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be minor and absorbable.
2)DGS's costs to review proposed agency contract provisions
waiving intellectual property rights would be reimbursed by
the contracting agency. These costs should not be significant
for any single agency.
COMMENTS:
Background and Purpose. The recent, well-publicized Yosemite
National Park trademark dispute not only put a spotlight on the
federal government's intellectual property rights, but also
raised questions about the State of California's intellectual
property rights, as well; specifically as to whether a
third-party contractor who enters into a contract with the state
acquires any intellectual property rights over products and
services a contractor creates and provides to the public that is
funded with public dollars, even after the contract expires.
This bill is the result of the Assembly Committee on Judiciary's
review of the state's existing statutory framework regarding
management of intellectual property, and the committee's
conclusion that improvements were warranted.
This bill does the following: (1) clarifies existing law that
public agencies may own, license, and register intellectual
property, and provides that such intellectual property is still
accessible under the California Public Records Act; (2) provides
policy guidance to DGS on factors state agencies should consider
when deciding whether to sell or license state-owned
intellectual property; (3) enables DGS to include guidelines in
its State Contracting Manual on how state agencies should manage
its intellectual property; (4) requires state agencies, when
entering into a contract, to consider the guidance, policies,
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and procedures developed by DGS on intellectual property; and
(5) prohibits a state contract that waives the state's
intellectual property unless DGS has consented to the waiver.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081