Strategic Partnership Projects

WHAT IS AN SPP?

A Strategic Partnership Project, or SPP, is a fee-for-service contract mechanism that enables industry, non-profit institutions, and other non-federal entities to pay labs to perform a defined scope of work. This work must draw upon the lab’s unique facilities, equipment, or personnel.

The rights to the inventions and data (subject inventions) may vest in the sponsor if the sponsor is a U.S. entity and pays for the work with private funds. If the sponsor is providing federal funds to the lab to support the work (typically received through a competitive process), or if the sponsor is a non-U.S. entity or has foreign influence, however, then the rights of subject inventions will vest with the lab performing the work with no rights for the protection of generated data.