By Berlanga H.B. No. 1520
75R2921 SKB-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the protection and use of certain products,
1-3 information, and technology of the Texas Department of Health.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 12, Health and Safety Code,
1-6 is amended by adding Section 12.020 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 12.020. PROTECTION AND USE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
1-8 (a) The department may:
1-9 (1) apply for, register, secure, hold, and protect
1-10 under the laws of the United States, any state, or any nation:
1-11 (A) a patent for an invention or discovery of,
1-12 or improvement to, any process, machine, manufacture, or
1-13 composition of matter;
1-14 (B) a copyright for an original work of
1-15 authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression now known or
1-16 later developed that can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise
1-17 communicated;
1-18 (C) a trademark, service mark, collective mark,
1-19 or certification mark for a word, name, symbol, device, or slogan,
1-20 or any combination of those items, that has been adopted and used
1-21 by the department to identify goods or services and distinguish
1-22 those goods or services from other goods or services; or
1-23 (D) other evidence of protection or exclusivity
1-24 issued in or for intellectual property;
2-1 (2) enter into a contract with an individual or
2-2 company for the sale, lease, marketing, or other distribution of
2-3 intellectual property of the department;
2-4 (3) obtain under a contract entered into under
2-5 Subdivision (2) a royalty, license right, or other appropriate
2-6 means of securing appropriate compensation for the development or
2-7 purchase of intellectual property of the department; and
2-8 (4) waive or reduce the amount of a fee, royalty, or
2-9 other thing of monetary or nonmonetary value to be assessed by the
2-10 department if the department determines that the waiver will:
2-11 (A) further the goals and missions of the
2-12 department; and
2-13 (B) result in a net benefit to the state.
2-14 (b) Intellectual property for which the department has
2-15 applied for or received a patent, copyright, trademark, or other
2-16 evidence of protection or exclusivity is excepted from required
2-17 disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
2-18 (c) The department may establish, maintain, and support a
2-19 Center for Public Health Development and may accept and administer,
2-20 on terms and conditions acceptable to the department, gifts,
2-21 grants, and donations to aid in the establishment, maintenance, and
2-22 operation of the center.
2-23 (d) Subject to board rules, the center may solicit and
2-24 submit for the approval of the department agreements with any
2-25 persons for funding the discovery, development, and
2-26 commercialization of new products, technology, and scientific
2-27 information.
3-1 (e) To carry out the purposes of the center under this
3-2 section, the department may, through the center:
3-3 (1) own and license rights to products, technology,
3-4 and scientific information;
3-5 (2) own shares in a corporation engaged in the
3-6 development, manufacture, or marketing of products, technology, or
3-7 scientific information under a license from the department, the
3-8 center, or a corporation owned or controlled by the department;
3-9 (3) participate as a general or limited partner either
3-10 directly or through a subsidiary corporation formed for that
3-11 purpose, in a limited partnership, general partnership, or joint
3-12 venture engaged in the development, manufacture, or marketing of
3-13 products, technology, or scientific information under a license
3-14 from the department, the center, or a corporation owned or
3-15 controlled by the department; and
3-16 (4) carry on any other activities the department
3-17 determines appropriate for achieving the purposes of this section.
3-18 (f) The Center for Public Health Development established
3-19 under this section may not receive general revenue funds through a
3-20 special item appropriation in a General Appropriations Act.
3-21 (g) The Center for Public Health Development shall cooperate
3-22 fully with similar programs operated by other state entities.
3-23 (h) Money paid to the department under this section shall be
3-24 deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund.
3-25 (i) It is not a violation of Chapter 572, Government Code,
3-26 or another law of this state:
3-27 (1) for an employee of the department who conceives,
4-1 creates, discovers, invents, or develops intellectual property to
4-2 own or to be awarded any amount of equity interest or participation
4-3 in the research, development, licensing, or exploitation of that
4-4 intellectual property with the approval of the commissioner; or
4-5 (2) for an individual, at the request of the
4-6 commissioner, to serve as a member of the board of directors or
4-7 other governing board of a business entity that has an agreement
4-8 with this state or a political subdivision of this state relating
4-9 to the research, development, licensing, or exploitation of
4-10 intellectual property in which the department or the Center for
4-11 Public Health Development has an ownership interest.
4-12 (j) The commissioner shall institute intellectual property
4-13 policies for the department that establish minimum standards for:
4-14 (1) the public disclosure or availability of products,
4-15 technology, and scientific information, including inventions,
4-16 discoveries, trade secrets, and computer software;
4-17 (2) review by the department of products, technology,
4-18 and scientific information, including consideration of ownership
4-19 and appropriate legal protection;
4-20 (3) the licensing of products, technology, and
4-21 scientific information;
4-22 (4) the identification of ownership and licensing
4-23 responsibilities for each class of intellectual property;
4-24 (5) royalty participation by inventors and the
4-25 department; and
4-26 (6) equity and management participation on the part of
4-27 the inventor in business entities that use technology or scientific
5-1 information created at the department.
5-2 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
5-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
5-7 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
5-8 passage, and it is so enacted.