§ 4703 — Validation Of Proprietary Data Restrictions

(a) A contract for property or services entered into by an executive agency that provides for the delivery of technical data shall provide that— (1) a contractor or subcontractor at any tier shall be prepared to furnish to the contracting officer a written justification for any restriction the contractor or subcontractor asserts on the right of the Federal Government to use the data; and (2) the contracting officer may review the validity of a restriction the contractor or subcontractor asserts under the contract on the right of the Federal Government to use technical data furnished to the Federal Government under the contract if the contracting officer determines that reasonable grounds exist to question the current validity of the asserted restriction and that the continued adherence to the asserted restriction by the Federal Government would make it impracticable to procure the item competitively at a later time. (b) If after a review the contracting officer determines that a challenge to the asserted restriction is warranted, the contracting officer shall provide written notice to the contractor or subcontractor asserting the restriction. The notice shall state— (1) the grounds for challenging the asserted restriction; and (2) the requirement for a response within 60 days justifying the current validity of the asserted restriction. (c) If a contractor or subcontractor asserting a restriction subject to this section submits to the contracting officer a written request showing the need for additional time to comply with the requirement to justify the current validity of the asserted restriction, the contracting officer shall provide appropriate additional time to adequately permit the justification to be submitted. (d) If a party asserting a restriction receives notices of challenges to restrictions on technical data from more than one contracting officer, and notifies each contracting officer of the existence of more than one challenge, the contracting officer initiating the earliest challenge, after consultation with the party asserting the restriction and the other contracting officers, shall formulate a schedule of responses to each of the challenges that will afford the party asserting the restriction with an equitable opportunity to respond to each challenge. (1) The contracting officer shall issue a decision pertaining to the validity of the asserted restriction if the contractor or subcontractor does not submit a response under subsection (b). (2) Within 60 days of receipt of a justification submitted in response to the notice provided pursuant to subsection (b), a contracting officer shall issue a decision or notify the party asserting the restriction of the time within which a decision will be issued. (f) A claim pertaining to the validity of the asserted restriction that is submitted in writing to a contracting officer by a contractor or subcontractor at any tier is deemed to be a claim within the meaning of chapter 71 of this title. (1) If the contracting officer’s challenge to the restriction on the right of the Federal Government to use technical data is sustained on final disposition— (A) the restriction is cancelled; and (B) if the asserted restriction is found not to be substantially justified, the contractor or subcontractor, as appropriate, is liable to the Federal Government for payment of the cost to the Federal Government of reviewing the asserted restriction and the fees and other expenses (as defined in section 2412(d)(2)(A) of title 28) incurred by the Federal Government in challenging the asserted restriction, unless special circumstances would make the payment unjust. (2) If the contracting officer’s challenge to the restriction on the right of the Federal Government to use technical data is not sustained on final disposition, the Federal Government— (A) continues to be bound by the restriction; and (B) is liable for payment to the party asserting the restriction for fees and other expenses (as defined in section 2412(d)(2)(A) of title 28) incurred by the party asserting the restriction in defending the asserted restriction if the challenge by the Federal Government is found not to be made in good faith.