Technical Data Rights (Unlimited, Government Purpose, Limited)
Technical data rights are the standard license categories DoD receives in noncommercial technical data under DFARS 252.227-7013, set by funding source: unlimited rights for government-funded development, government purpose rights for mixed funding, and limited rights for development at exclusively private expense.
Which license the government takes follows the money. Under DFARS 227.7103-5, development exclusively with government funds yields unlimited rights; mixed funding yields government purpose rights; development exclusively at private expense yields limited rights, which bar release outside the government without the asserting party's written permission, apart from narrow cases such as emergency repair and overhaul.
Government purpose rights run five years from contract execution unless the parties negotiate a different period, and the license converts to unlimited rights when that period expires. Until then the government may use the data for government purposes while commercial use remains the contractor's exclusive right.
Markings decide outcomes. Data delivered without restrictive markings is presumed delivered with unlimited rights, and a contractor has six months to seek correction of an inadvertent omission. Unmarked deliverables, not funding history, are where contractors lose rights disputes.
Regulatory Reference
10 U.S.C. 3771; DFARS 227.7103-5; DFARS 252.227-7013
RFO Status
DoD's RFO class deviation 2026-O0036 restructured DFARS Part 227 and consolidated 252.227-7013 and -7014 into a single noncommercial clause, 252.227-7989, while the funding-based rights framework stays anchored in 10 U.S.C. 3771, so check which clause set a given solicitation carries.
Category
Regulations & Policy
How AcqBot Helps
AcqBot reads a solicitation's data rights clauses, legacy 252.227-7013 or the RFO deviation clause, maps each deliverable to the rights category its funding history supports, and keeps the asserted-restrictions list consistent with the markings on every deliverable.
Related glossary entries
Class Deviation
A class deviation authorizes an agency to depart from specific FAR or supplement provisions for a category of contract actions rather than a single case — the mechanism agencies are using to implement the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul ahead of formal rulemaking.
Commercial Products and Services (FAR Part 12)
Commercial products and commercial services are items of a type sold, leased, licensed, or offered in the commercial marketplace, defined at FAR 2.101. FAR Part 12 implements the statutory preference for buying them whenever market research shows they can meet the agency's need.
Rule of Two
The rule of two directs a contracting officer to set aside an acquisition for small business when there is a reasonable expectation of receiving offers from at least two responsible small business concerns and making award at fair market prices, per FAR 19.502-2.
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is information the government creates or possesses, or that an entity handles on its behalf, that a law, regulation, or governmentwide policy requires safeguarding or dissemination controls for — sensitive but not classified, governed by 32 CFR Part 2002.