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ACS issues policy statement on intellectual property Society offers guidance on patents, copyrights, and trade secrets LINDA WANG, C&EN WASHINGTON
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tent, world-class patents, as well as recomhe American Chemical Society mendations to help improve the efficiency has issued a new policy stateof the patenting process. The statement ment on intellectual property also provides guidance on copyright policy aimed at encouraging scientific and trade secret policies. innovation and scholarly advancement in “ACS recognizes the importance of the U.S. More specifically, the statement makes recommendations related to patents, intellectual property in stimulating innovation,” says Kirby Drake, chair of the copyrights, and trade secrets. Additionally, Committee on Patents & Related Matters. the society has revised five existing policy “This policy statement related to patents, statements and renewed five other statetrade secrets, and copyrights can have an ments without substantial revision. effect on all ACS members involved in disACS currently has 28 policy statements covery, development, as well as commerin four broad areas of interest to the cialization of technologies.” society’s membership: fostering innovaPA&PR has also revised five statetion through research and technology; ments that were last reviewed in 2014 to strengthening science education and the clarify and further emphasize key points, scientific workforce; advancing sustainalthough the specific policy recommenability and the environment; and promotdations remain unchanged. The revised ing science in the public policy arena. statements are Science & Technology in Policy statements are developed by one the Budget, Scientific Insight & Integrity, or more ACS committees with input from Sustainability of the Chemical EnterACS members. The ACS Committee on prise, U.S. Business Climate, and Visa Public Affairs & Public Relations (PA&PR) Restrictions. reviews the statements on behalf of the The committee renewed without subACS Board. Once approved, policy statestantial revision the statements titled ments are active for three years before Encouraging Americans to Support Prothey’re up for renewal or retirement. fessional & Educational Activities through “The policy statements that are apFinancial Donations, Teaching of Evoluproved are the guidelines for addressing tion, Importance of Hands-on Laboratory initiatives either in the administration Activities, Retirement Security, and on or in Congress that relate to chemistry Scientific Freedom. and the chemistry enterprise,” says John ACS members interested in getting inAdams, immediate past chair of PA&PR volved in the society’s advocacy efforts can and current ACS board chair. “The policy join the ACS Legislative Action Network to statements tend to be broad statements of principle, and as a result they can be appli- receive updates about legislation relevant to the chemistry community, join a local cable over an extended period of time.” section government affairs group, or serve The new policy statement on intellecon an ACS committual property was tee and help shape developed by the policy statements. Committee on They can also join Patents & RelatAct4Chemistry, ed Matters. The ACS’s member statement details advocacy volunteer recommendations to help stimu—John Adams, immediate past chair, ACS program, which late innovation Committee on Public Affairs & Public Relations, currently has through consisand current chair, ACS Board of Directors more than 15,000
“It’s important that our members’ voices be heard.”
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C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | JANUARY 15, 2018
members. ACS can also assist its members in contacting their elected officials. Other tools and resources are available at www.acs.org/policy. To help inform and educate members of Congress and their staff, ACS conducts congressional briefings, in which panels of experts from academia, industry, and government highlight policy issues of importance to scientists. ACS also hosts an annual Legislative Summit, where members of the ACS Board of Directors visit policy-makers in Washington, D.C. The impact of the policy statements can be seen in the outcome of legislation. “We advocated in 2017 for preserving the Chemical Safety Board, which had been recommended for zeroing out in the preliminary administration budget,” Adams says. “The later versions of appropriations from the Senate and House were much more agreeable to us” and did not take away the CSB budget. The key is to deliver a unified and consistent message to legislators on behalf of the scientific community, Adams says. “It’s important that our members’ voices be heard.”
Current ACS policy statements Foster innovation through research & technology ▸ Energy: Endorses an energy policy that prioritizes energy efficiency and that includes the full life-cycle costs of energy sources in their market prices, including the impacts on human health and the environment. It also encourages long-term orientation for both funding and incentives. ▸ Intellectual Property: Encourages policies that improve the quality and consistency of granted patents as well as the efficiency of the patent process. Urges policy-makers to support information technology upgrades to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and support sustainable open access initiatives. Promotes consistent application of trade secret protections. ▸ Science & Technology in the Budget:
Urges policy-makers to restore investments in federal R&D funding to levels nearer to 1.2% of gross domestic product and recommends strategies to ensure federal dollars dedicated to R&D are used as efficiently as possible. ▸ U.S. Business Climate: Supports a fair and level playing field that enhances competition and stimulates R&D. Supports policies that foster the growth of small R&D businesses and encourage entrepreneurship. ▸ U.S. Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Supports investment in a world-class workforce through education and training, long-term commitments to basic research and technology development, and the development of a sustainable infrastructure for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Strengthen science education & the scientific workforce
represented groups, in pursuit of studies and careers in STEM. ▸ Teaching of Evolution: Supports teaching of evolution; opposes alternative, nonscientific theories; and urges states and localities to support high-quality science standards and curricula. ▸ Visa Restrictions: Supports visa policies that facilitate scientific education and exchange and welcome foreign scholars, students, scientists, and engineers. Supports timely and reasonable screening processes for visits, greater transparency of the application process, and the issuance and management of visas that are more aligned with the purpose of academic study and scientific exchange.
Advance sustainability & the environment
▸ Chemical Risk Assessment & Regulatory Decision Making: Supports risk assessments that are based on sound science, ▸ Disabilities: Supports ratification of the that are protective of human health and the environment, and that include necessary Convention on the Rights of Persons with information from the commercial chemical Disabilities and encourages international cooperation, sharing of scientific knowledge, enterprise while protecting confidential busiand R&D on assistive technologies in carness information. ▸ Climate Change: Reviews the science rying out the requirement to implement the and recommends action on greenhouse gas means for equal access to medical facilities, reduction and climate change adaptation education, workplaces, and communication strategies. Encourages continued funding technologies. ▸ Employment Nondiscrimination: for research into the effects of climate change while also emphasizing the Recommends federal legislation to extend importance of educating the public on the employment discrimination protection to inissue. clude sexual orientation, gender expression, ▸ Endocrine Disruption: Endorses exand gender identity. ▸ Health Care: Supports health care policies panded funding for the development of more that focus on preventive care, availability and effective tools and methods for diagnostic affordability of health plans, universal eligibiltesting and also for green chemistry research into functional alternatives. ity, portability of health coverage across state ▸ Inherently Safer Technologies: Endorses lines, and privacy of medical information. ▸ Importance of Hands-on Laboratory federal support for research and developActivities: Supports hands-on activities ment to expand IST options and usage. ▸ Regulation of Laboratory Waste: Rein education and explores the proper role of computer simulations that mimic laboratory views the pitfalls of regulations meant for procedures as a useful supplement to them large-scale chemical manufacturing being but not a substitute for them. applied to laboratories. ▸ Retirement Security: Urges Congress to ▸ The Science & Technology of Hydraureduce the regulatory complexity of 401(k) lic Fracturing: Recommends conducting plans available to small-business owners and research on fracking and its impacts from promote faster vesting and more portable a life-cycle perspective, its uses compared plans. with replacement resources, methane emis▸ Science Education: Supports ensursions at fracking sites, causes and extent of groundwater contamination, less hazardous ing that all students understand science fracking fluids, and characterizain accordance with national standards; modernizing learning tion of and methods for treating environments; strengthening and disposing of liquid returns science, technology, engineerfrom fracking. ▸ Sustainability of the Cheming, and mathematics (STEM) teacher education programs; and Give your input ical Enterprise: Defines the nurturing students of all backon policy statements concept of sustainability in the at goo.gl/WEs3X4. context of the chemical entergrounds, including from under-
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prise. Supports government incentives for sustainable technologies. ▸ Water Treatment & Conservation: Supports U.S. government action that develops water-use guidelines and initiatives; encourages advancements in water reduction, treatment, and reuse technologies; protects groundwater resources; and prevents discharge of toxic substances into ground and surface waters.
Promote science in the public policy arena ▸ Encouraging Americans to Support Professional & Educational Activities through Financial Donations: Supports tax deductions for charitable contributions and permanent extension of the Individual Retirement Account charitable rollover provisions. ▸ Ensuring Access to High-Quality Science: Supports using sustainable publishing models that provide universal access to scientific research. Supports the 10 principles outlined in the Brussels Declaration on STM (scientific, technical, and medical) Publishing, as set forth by the International Association of STM Publishers. ▸ Forensic Science: Calls for scientific rigor, high-quality education, and standards in forensic science and for its integration with the broader scientific community. Backs evaluation and improvement of forensic analytical methods. ▸ Peer Review—Ensuring High-Quality Science: Urges support for scientific peer review processes that evaluate grant applications on the basis of both intellectual merit and broader impacts and that are periodically evaluated for process effectiveness and efficiency and for reviewer freedom from interference in scientific merit assessments. ▸ Safety in the Chemistry Enterprise: Supports the use of risk-based criteria in creating safety regulations and policies, and continued funding of research to inform policy-makers and stakeholders in the creation of those regulations and policies. Also supports government implementation of regulatory policies that foster innovation within a safer chemical environment. ▸ Scientific Freedom: Advocates freedom of scientific exchange and stronger scientific collaboration to benefit humankind. ▸ Scientific Insight & Integrity: Supports the use of insightful, comprehensive, scientific, and engineering input to the development and evaluation of policy options. Encourages scientific integrity policies that help the federal government obtain and integrate scientific assessments into policy development and implementation. ◾ JANUARY 15, 2018 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
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