A Guide for Authors of Software — 2017 5 TD and Legal can review each unique situation and make a determination. They may request the submission of a Software Disclosure Record (SDR) or Outside Activities Form (480.05) to gather the necessary details. If INL determines that it owns the software, the author may request to obtain proprietary licensing for the software from INL. Alternatively, INL may release the software under open- source licensing where the author, and the public, will have access to it. Additionally, the Director of Technology Deploy- ment may decline to assert ownership in certain circumstances, based on recommendations of potential stakeholders. If this occurs, DOE retains ownership of the software, and the author(s) can request ownership or a license from DOE-CH (Chicago) patent counsel. Can authors contribute to open-source projects as part of their job? Yes, authors are encouraged to contribute to open-source projects as long as they have filed an SDR for the contributions and it has been approved by TD. When ongoing contributions are anticipated, TD may give a broader scope of approval so that the author does not need a separate disclosure for each bug fix or small feature change. Whenever an author modifies third party open-source code, they should evaluate the possibility of contributing their changes back to the original project and file an SDR for these changes. Authors may not simply send a pull request, code patch, or equivalent to the external project without TD’s approval. What if the scope of the work changes after filing a Software Disclosure Record? Changes to the core functionality of the software must be docu- mented to comply with DOE requirements. If the project is still under initial development and has not been deployed, contact TD and they can amend the project’s description and have the changes reviewed. If the project has already been deployed and there is ongoing development, file a new SDR referencing the original SDR and advance the version in the new SDR to distin- guish the releases. This allows TD to track the development in relation to the original SDR rather than treating it as an unrelated project, saving resources and expediting the process. Should the work be protected with patents in addition to copyright? In many cases, software is most appropriately protected by copyright. If the software uses a new and innovative procedure or process, then file an Invention Disclosure Record (IDR) in IPDS (the same system used to file SDRs). Filing an IDR initiates the process of assessing the invention, and determining if it should be protected by a patent, which may be strategically used to more effectively bring the technology to market in some cases, or which may bring INL additional licensing royalties to fund further research. Can software be released as open source? Yes, if open source is the best mechanism to deploy the software, it supports programmatic objectives, and doing so complies with export control and other contract requirements. INL and TD strongly support releasing software to achieve the greatest impact for our technological advances when possible. TD makes licensing strategy decisions based on the recommen- dations/guidance from BEST, management, program sponsors, export control and other supporting entities. Can authors give the software to others? Software should not be given to any non-INL employee unless TD reviews and approves the transfer. TD ensures that all of INL’s contract requirements are met and that the software is transferred under the appropriate agreements. If there is a need to share the software with others, contact TD and they will assist in getting the proper agreement in place.