A Guide for Authors of Software — 2017 3 federal regulation to restrict its distribution, or if it may contain information that would identify individuals in a way that may adversely affect their privacy. Next, a software specialist will gather information about the software – its scope of applicability, the intent and wishes of the authors, directorate and funding sources – to make a recom- mendation to the Business Evaluation Strategy Team (BEST) supporting the directorate. BEST (composed of directorate managers, INL patent attorneys and legal staff, and TD commercialization managers) makes recommendations to the Director of Technology Deployment regarding IP for which the contractor should elect title, request the right to assert copyright, publish, disclose, deploy, and/or invest. BEST can also recommend a deployment strategy to commercialization managers for assigned intellectual property, such as making the software freely available under open-source licenses. Alternatively, they may restrict the distribution in order to incubate the technology for further development without the pressure of competition. In some cases, the software may be too sensitive or confidential for outside use, and deployment options may be limited. Once a tentative decision on how to release the software has been made, TD obtains the necessary concurrences (such as export control, counterintelligence, security, legal and management) and prepares the appropriate license if needed. Depending on the strategy chosen, TD will market and license the software to optimally achieve INL’s technology transfer mission while taking into consideration the recommendations made by BEST and the other reviewers. Defining deployment strategy: the method by which INL will deliver the software to third parties. Methods include exclusive licensing, nonexclusive licensing, open source, government use only or publication. How long does the technology transfer process for software take? For most software, it takes about six weeks to review the deploy- ment options. It can take longer if funding sources, developers and directorates have concerns, or if there are issues in licensing arising from third party assets integrated within the software. To avoid delays, disclosures should be filed as soon as possible after development is started. This allows the technology transfer process to be completed during the development phase and enables the software to be released the day it is completed. Tips for Authors: • Complete the SDR as soon as it is known what the software will do or the scope of the data set. Provide as much detail as possible. The development of the software does not need to be nearing completion; only the function of the software needs to be known. • List potential interested parties that may wish to use the software or data so the software specialist may make a better recommendation for the release strategy. • Respond to theTD office or legal team promptly when inquiries are made to avoid delays. • Keep theTD office apprised of any third party code or other assets, such as open-source libraries that are included in the software so they can catch early open source licensing issues that may not be compatible with the chosen release strategy. • Identify any additional authors, whether they are INL employees or not, to theTD office as soon as they are selected to work on the software. • Inform theTD office if the software deviates from the disclosure, such as adding additional functionality outside the original project scope. • Inform theTD office of any upcoming publications or speaking engagements related to the software. • Choose the name of the software carefully to avoid potential trademark infringement. ContactTD prior to naming the software; they can perform a trademark search.Authors can also go to USPTO.gov to make a preliminary search.