Let's Talk Data Rights: Four-Dimensional Intellectual Property Mapping

Of all the topics pertaining to the DoD’s acquisition of technical data and computer software from industry, perhaps none is more obscure than the topic of “mapping”—primarily because it is not mentioned anywhere in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). But conversely, perhaps no other topic is as important. Because if the contracting parties do not properly address this concept in the awarded contract, they may experience difficulties after award attempting to determine what price the Government should pay in return for the contractor granting it an intellectual property (IP) license to the IP deliverables that describe or are the technical baseline for various components that reside in the architecture of the weapon system.