Executive Order 12591: Facilitating access to science and technology

Summary

EO 12591 seeks to make federally supported science and technology more useful outside government. Reagan directed agencies and laboratories to promote cooperation, licensing and transfer of research results within statutory limits. Its continuing effect does not mean every federally funded invention belongs to the public without restrictions or that every company can demand an exclusive license.

Status: In effect. Yes. As amended by EO 12618, it remains part of the federal technology-transfer and patent-rights framework, including current 37 CFR part 401 references.

Key facts at a glance

Signed	April 10, 1987
President	Ronald Reagan
Federal Register	52 FR 13414; published April 22, 1987
Current label	In effect
Amended by	EO 12618
Related orders	EO 12618
Checked	October 25, 2026

What it requires today

Agencies facilitate cooperative research and development arrangements and make laboratory expertise and inventions available under authorized mechanisms. A cooperative agreement needs its own legal authority and terms. The order promotes such collaboration rather than replacing the underlying statutes governing laboratories.

Patent-rights policy encourages contractor ownership in covered situations while preserving government rights and other statutory conditions. Contractor title and a government license can coexist. Describing the policy as an unconditional transfer of all government intellectual property would omit essential limitations.

Royalty sharing, licensing practices and technical information policies are addressed alongside organizational implementation. The relevant modern rule, agreement and agency patent decision determine a particular invention’s treatment. A laboratory’s technology-transfer mission is not a guarantee that negotiations will result in a license.

Who it affects

Federal research agencies, government laboratories, contractors, researchers and prospective licensees are affected. The order’s policy spans several mechanisms, so a small-business research award, a laboratory partnership and an invention license should not be assumed to have identical ownership rules.

How it came about

The 1987 order built on federal technology-transfer legislation and attempts to move research into practical application. EO 12618 amended it later that year. The framework connects agency management with statutory invention policy rather than creating a free-standing private entitlement to federal inventions.

What agencies did under it

Current 37 CFR 401.14 includes a contractor definition expressly referring to EO 12591 as amended. Current NASA acquisition and grant materials also reference the technology-transfer framework. These concrete implementation records support the status label.

NIST describes the Interagency Working Group for Technology Transfer in relation to the order. Such coordination can improve consistent practice, but a description of a working group should not be mistaken for evidence that every laboratory has met every transfer target or that a given agreement is legally sufficient.

Implementation records: Current patent rights clause; NASA January 2026 award terms; NIST technology-transfer coordination.

Amendments and family tree

EO 12618 amended EO 12591 in December 1987. Later statutes, patent regulations and agency terms also affect implementation. The guide distinguishes the order’s continuing policy role from historical dollar limits or organizational details that should not be assumed unchanged without examining current law.

Selected historical wording from the National Archives codification

EO 12591: this excerpt preserves the historical codified wording. For present application, yes. As amended by EO 12618, it remains part of the federal technology-transfer and patent-rights framework, including current 37 CFR part 401 references.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-502), the Trademark Clarification Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-620), and the University and Small Business Patent Procedure Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-517), and in order to ensure that Federal agencies and laboratories assist universities and the private sector in broadening our technology base by moving new knowledge from the research laboratory into the development of new products and processes, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Transfer of Federally Funded Technology. (a) The head of each Executive department and agency, to the extent permitted by law, shall encourage and facilitate collaboration among Federal laboratories, State and local governments, universities, and the private sector, particularly small business, in order to assist in the transfer of technology to the marketplace. (b) The head of each Executive department and agency shall, within overall funding allocations and to the extent permitted by law: (1) delegate authority to its government-owned, government-operated Federal laboratories: (A) to enter into cooperative research and development agreements with other Federal laboratories, State and local governments, universities, and the private sector; and (B) to license, assign, or waive rights to intellectual property developed by the laboratory either under such cooperative research or development agreements and from within individual laboratories. (2) identify and encourage persons to act as conduits between and among Federal laboratories, universities, and the private sector for the transfer of technology developed from federally funded research and development efforts; (3) ensure that State and local governments, universities, and the private sector are provided with information on the technology, expertise, and facilities available in Federal laboratories; (4) promote the commercialization, in accord with my Memorandum to the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies of February 18, 1983, of patentable results of federally funded research by granting to all contractors, regardless of size, the title to patents made in whole or in part with Federal funds, in exchange for royalty-free use by or on behalf of the government;

Read the official text and source notes.

Court cases

No court ruling specifically on EO 12591 was found in the official presidential, disposition and agency sources examined as of October 25, 2026. The status assessment for this instrument is: Yes. As amended by EO 12618, it remains part of the federal technology-transfer and patent-rights framework, including current 37 CFR part 401 references.

Common questions

Does the public own every invention?

No. Patent ownership, government licenses and disclosure duties depend on the relevant statute, regulation and agreement. The order promotes transfer without eliminating those distinctions.

Is a CRADA the same as a procurement contract?

No. Cooperative research and development agreements have their own statutory authority and terms. The appropriate mechanism depends on the laboratory and proposed collaboration.

Can a company demand an exclusive license?

The order does not guarantee a particular applicant a license. Agency licensing authority, required procedures and the negotiated terms still matter.

Why mention the 1987 amendment?

EO 12618 changed the framework. A current reference is to EO 12591 as amended, so the original April text alone is not a complete account.

Legal basis

The statutory framework includes federal patent-rights and technology-transfer laws, including the Bayh–Dole and Stevenson–Wydler settings as applicable. The order directs executive implementation within law; it cannot eliminate statutory government rights or a restriction attached to a particular invention.

Sources

Cite this page

EO Explained, “Executive Order 12591: Facilitating access to science and technology”, checked October 25, 2026. https://eoexplained.com/historic-orders/historic-12591-facilitating-access-to-science-and-technology. Include an access date when citing this dated account. For the presidential instrument itself, cite 52 FR 13414 and the official text.

Last checked

October 25, 2026. EO 12591 was checked against its signed record, current disposition and cited implementation sources for the status and scope described above. Report an error or a later official source.