[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 15, Volume 3]

[Revised as of January 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 15CFR960.12]



[Page 302-303]

 

                  TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE

 

CHAPTER IX--NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 

                               OF COMMERCE

 

PART 960_LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS--Table of Contents

 

                           Subpart B_Licenses

 

Sec. 960.12  Data policy for remote sensing space systems.



    (a) In accordance with the Act, if the U.S. Government has or will 

directly fund all or a substantial part of the development, fabrication, 

launch, or operation costs of a licensed system, the license shall 

require that all of the unenhanced data from the system be made 

available on a nondiscriminatory basis except on the basis of national 

security, foreign policy or international obligations.

    (b) If the U.S. Government has not funded and will not fund, either 

directly or indirectly, any of the development, fabrication, launch, or 

operations costs of a licensed system, the licensee may provide access 

to its unenhanced data in accordance with reasonable commercial terms 

and conditions, subject to the requirement of providing data to the 

government of any sensed state, pursuant to Sec. 960.11(b)(10), and to 

implementation of the licensee's plan, as contained in its application, 

to provide widespread access to its unenhanced data for non-commercial 

scientific, educational or other public benefit purposes.

    (c) If the U.S. Government has (either directly or indirectly) 

funded some of the development, fabrication, launch, or operations costs 

of a licensed system, the Assistant Administrator, in consultation with 

other appropriate U.S. agencies, shall, subject to national security 

concerns, determine whether the interest of the United States in 

promoting widespread availability of remote sensing data on reasonable 

cost terms and conditions requires that some or all of the unenhanced 

data from the system be made available on a nondiscriminatory basis in 

accordance with the Act. The license shall specify any data subject



[[Page 303]]



to this requirement. In making this determination, the Assistant 

Administrator may consider:

    (1) The extent and proportion of private and federal funding of the 

system;

    (2) The extent of the governmental versus the commercial market for 

the unenhanced data;

    (3) The effect of a nondiscriminatory data access designation on the 

applicant's commercial activity;

    (4) The extent to which the applicant's proposed commercial data 

policies would encourage foreign operators to limit access, particularly 

for research and public benefit purposes; or

    (5) The extent to which the U.S. interest in promoting widespread 

data availability can be satisfied through license conditions that 

ensure access to the data for scientific, educational, or other public 

benefit purposes.