1-1     By:  Harris                                            S.B. No. 994

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 6, 1997; March 11, 1997, read

 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on International Relations,

 1-4     Trade, and Technology; April 3, 1997, reported favorably by the

 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 1; April 3, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to the protection and use of certain products,

 1-9     information, and technology of the Texas Department of Health.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 12, Health and Safety Code,

1-12     is amended by adding Section 12.020 to read as follows:

1-13           Sec. 12.020.  PROTECTION AND USE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.

1-14     (a)  The department may:

1-15                 (1)  apply for, register, secure, hold, and protect

1-16     under the laws of the United States, any state, or any nation:

1-17                       (A)  a patent for an invention or discovery of,

1-18     or improvement to, any process, machine, manufacture, or

1-19     composition of matter;

1-20                       (B)  a copyright for an original work of

1-21     authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression now known or

1-22     later developed that can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise

1-23     communicated;

1-24                       (C)  a trademark, service mark, collective mark,

1-25     or certification mark for a word, name, symbol, device, or slogan,

1-26     or any combination of those items, that has been adopted and used

1-27     by the department to identify goods or services and distinguish

1-28     those goods or services from other goods or services; or

1-29                       (D)  other evidence of protection or exclusivity

1-30     issued in or for intellectual property;

1-31                 (2)  enter into a contract with an individual or

1-32     company for the sale, lease, marketing, or other distribution of

1-33     intellectual property of the department;

1-34                 (3)  obtain under a contract entered into under

1-35     Subdivision (2) a royalty, license right, or other appropriate

1-36     means of securing appropriate compensation for the development or

1-37     purchase of intellectual property of the department; and

1-38                 (4)  waive or reduce the amount of a fee, royalty, or

1-39     other thing of monetary or nonmonetary value to be assessed by the

1-40     department if the department determines that the waiver will:

1-41                       (A)  further the goals and missions of the

1-42     department; and

1-43                       (B)  result in a net benefit to the state.

1-44           (b)  Intellectual property for which the department has

1-45     applied for or received a patent, copyright, trademark, or other

1-46     evidence of protection or exclusivity is excepted from required

1-47     disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.

1-48           (c)  The department may establish, maintain, and support a

1-49     Center for Public Health Development and may accept and administer,

1-50     on terms and conditions acceptable to the department, gifts,

1-51     grants, and donations to aid in the establishment, maintenance, and

1-52     operation of the center.

1-53           (d)  Subject to board rules, the center may solicit and

1-54     submit for the approval of the department agreements with any

1-55     persons for funding the discovery, development, and

1-56     commercialization of new products, technology, and scientific

1-57     information.

1-58           (e)  To carry out the purposes of the center under this

1-59     section, the department may, through the center:

1-60                 (1)  own and license rights to products, technology,

1-61     and scientific information;

1-62                 (2)  own shares in a corporation engaged in the

1-63     development, manufacture, or marketing of products, technology, or

1-64     scientific information under a license from the department, the

 2-1     center, or a corporation owned or controlled by the department;

 2-2                 (3)  participate as a general or limited partner either

 2-3     directly or through a subsidiary corporation formed for that

 2-4     purpose, in a limited partnership, general partnership, or joint

 2-5     venture engaged in the development, manufacture, or marketing of

 2-6     products, technology, or scientific information under a license

 2-7     from the department, the center, or a corporation owned or

 2-8     controlled by the department; and

 2-9                 (4)  carry on any other activities the department

2-10     determines appropriate for achieving the purposes of this section.

2-11           (f)  The Center for Public Health Development established

2-12     under this section may not receive general revenue funds through a

2-13     special item appropriation in a General Appropriations Act.

2-14           (g)  The Center for Public Health Development shall cooperate

2-15     fully with similar programs operated by other state entities.

2-16           (h)  Money paid to the department under this section shall be

2-17     deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund.

2-18           (i)  It is not a violation of Chapter 572, Government Code,

2-19     or another law of this state:

2-20                 (1)  for an employee of the department who conceives,

2-21     creates, discovers, invents, or develops intellectual property to

2-22     own or to be awarded any amount of equity interest or participation

2-23     in the research, development, licensing, or exploitation of that

2-24     intellectual property with the approval of the commissioner; or

2-25                 (2)  for an individual, at the request of the

2-26     commissioner, to serve as a member of the board of directors or

2-27     other governing board of a business entity that has an agreement

2-28     with this state or a political subdivision of this state relating

2-29     to the research, development, licensing, or exploitation of

2-30     intellectual property in which the department or the Center for

2-31     Public Health Development has an ownership interest.

2-32           (j)  The commissioner shall institute intellectual property

2-33     policies for the department that establish minimum standards for:

2-34                 (1)  the public disclosure or availability of products,

2-35     technology, and scientific information, including inventions,

2-36     discoveries, trade secrets, and computer software;

2-37                 (2)  review by the department of products, technology,

2-38     and scientific information, including consideration of ownership

2-39     and appropriate legal protection;

2-40                 (3)  the licensing of products, technology, and

2-41     scientific information;

2-42                 (4)  the identification of ownership and licensing

2-43     responsibilities for each class of intellectual property;

2-44                 (5)  royalty participation by inventors and the

2-45     department; and

2-46                 (6)  equity and management participation on the part of

2-47     the inventor in business entities that use technology or scientific

2-48     information created at the department.

2-49           SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-50     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-51     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-52     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-53     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

2-54     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

2-55     passage, and it is so enacted.

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