NASA's Administrative Review of a Patent Infringement Claim

摘要

On February 7, 2000, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) responded to an inventor's complaint that the agency had used his patented technology without approval, compensation, or acknowledgment. NASA told the inventor that it had conducted an administrative review of the matter and concluded that there was no infringement. The inventor contacted you about this matter, and you asked us to review NASA's administrative action on his complaint. As agreed with your office, this report addresses (1) whether NASA adhered to established procedures in conducting its administrative review of the inventor's infringement claim and (2) what criteria NASA used in reaching its decision. As also agreed, we take no position as to whether NASA infringed the inventor's patent. A patent is a grant made by the government to an inventor, conveying and securing to him or her the exclusive right to an invention for a term of years. The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) grants patents in the United States. By its terms, a patent gives an inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention for a specified period, in this instance 17 years. A person infringes another's patent when he or she makes, uses, or sells the subject invention without permission during the patent term. On June 19, 1990, PTO granted U.S. Patent No. 4,934,631 to the inventor. The patent describes the invention as a 'lighter-than-air type vehicle comprising a framework and a series of inflatable lift bags secured to said framework'. The lift bags were designed to contain heating elements and a gas, such as hydrogen or helium, in contact with these heating elements. Believing his technology could be adapted successfully for a broad range of military and civilian projects, the inventor had attempted since 1989 to market his invention to the government.