US Army ATTP

Technology Transfer

One of the foundational elements of our nation's economy and national security is our ability to innovate. Technology transfer (T2) provides the ability for Army labs to enter into innovative research and development (R&D) collaborations with both the private and the public sectors. By leveraging the national investment in R&D, T2 enhances DoD’s R&D capabilities, and speeds up the process toward the development of a product, a capability or an operational upgrade.

T2 legislation provides patent rights to certain inventions arising from DoD-sponsored R&D for the expressed purpose of encouraging the commercialization of new technologies. T2 legislation also provides for cooperative research partnerships between DoD labs, other federal, state or local government agencies, commercial, academic and non-profit organizations.

T2 agreements help to 1) leverage shared research interests, capabilities, expertise and 2) identify research products (inventions, innovations, knowledge) which may have commercial or public value. The most common examples include 1) joint research (e.g. Cooperative Research and Development Agreements - CRADAs) and 2) commercialization of DoD technology (e.g. Patent License Agreements - PLA). The success stories that follow will provide a few examples of how T2 is making an impact for the Warfighter.