Export Controls: The Researchers’ Friend or Foe?

1. Export Controls: The Researchers’ Friend or Foe? Shannon G. Davis, Ph.D. Assistant Dean for Research College of Engineering

2. The Purpose of This Presentation is NOT: To teach you the details of export control regulations Discuss the bureaucratic intricacies of export control and what you have to do to manage it. Field a bunch of potential scenarios that you want to get advice about.

3. The Purpose of This Presentation is: To provide an alternative viewpoint of optimism about working on export controlled projects. To provide potential reasons for a more open viewpoint for accepting such projects. Why it might be an opportunity and not just a burden Provide a testimonial from one of your peers who thinks this is a potential “gold mine” to use his words.

4. What is Export Control? US laws that regulate the transfer of items, technology, software, and services Apply to all activities with foreign persons and foreign countries – not just sponsored research projects

5. Is Export Control Friend or Foe? It is foe if you are trying to avoid it You can’t avoid it and it creates a lot of bureaucracy with regard to: Students Research activity Equipment Travel International collaboration

6. How this applies to you….. Managing export control properly: Avoids reputational harm and adverse publicity Severe criminal and civil penalties for individuals and institutions But Creates extra bureaucratic requirements Permission to publish Export control plans Requests for licenses to the government

7. The Good news………………

8. Exemptions Fundamental Research exemption There are a lot of exceptions to this so remember the handout is just a definitional guide. Educational exemption Published public domain exemption ITAR employee exemption

9. What if we thought of export control as an opportunity instead of just a compliance burden?

10. The Reality of Global Markets Transferring technology is cheaper in China, India, and other countries because the global market makes everything cheaper. Export Controlled Projects Stay in the US This provides some protection from the global markets

11. What if export controlled projects are the first steps toward doing classified research? Historically, the path to classified research work: Acquire clearances building infrastructure I am told by company partners now that we can take small steps to getting there by starting with export controlled research. It is the beginning of the process. It builds trust with the company partner leads to additional work that can become classified. University provides something special that partner needs.

12. Testimonial from one of your colleagues who says export control is a potential gold mine. What we can learn from the Cases? If you are specialized, export control gives you leverage you might not otherwise have. They don’t want the technology to go to a competitor. You get latitude from the company if there is no place to go because other universities are averse to taking export controlled projects. Universities might have a better negotiating position regarding IP We might even be able to do away with right of first refusal. In fact it might be the best thing so that they do not take for granted we will license the IP to them.

13. How do we deal with publication restrictions? As Jim suggests, there would be lag time. You would carefully sequence publications. Just as you are completing one approval for a publication, you make sure you have another ready for the pipeline. Departments and colleges would need to learn to give at least partial credit for lagged publication work. Publication work that is in the process of being approved, but not yet cleared by the sponsor should count.

14. THANK YOU!!