Requirement for contractors to provide reasonable access to repair materials

(a) In general Chapter 363 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 862 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section: 4666. Requirement for contractors to provide reasonable access to repair materials (a) Requirement An agency may not enter into a contract for the procurement of reparable goods or repair services in support of major weapon systems unless the contractor agrees in writing to provide the Department of Defense fair and reasonable access to all the repair materials, including parts, tools, and information, used by the manufacturer or provider or their authorized repair providers to diagnose, analyze, maintain, or repair the good or service. (b) Waiver The Secretary of Defense, or the head of the procuring agency in the case of a delegated authority, may waive the requirements of this section with respect to a particular contract or class of contracts upon a written determination that application of those requirements would have a negative impact on cost, schedule, or technical performance. (c) Protection for intellectual property, proprietary, and trade secret information Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the unauthorized disclosure or release of intellectual property, commercially confidential information, or trade secrets. The Secretary of Defense shall take all necessary steps to protect such information from disclosure to the extent otherwise protected by law. (d) Fair and reasonable access defined In this section, the term fair and reasonable access means, as applicable— (1) prices, terms, and conditions that allow the Department of Defense the rights to provide the repair materials to an authorized contractor consistent with section 3771 of title 10, United States Code, and the Government’s product support strategy; (2) provision at prices, terms, and conditions that are equivalent to the most favorable prices, terms, and conditions under which the manufacturer or an authorized reseller or distributor offers the repair material to an authorized repair provider, accounting for any discount, rebate, convenient and timely means of delivery, means of enabling fully restored and updated functionality, rights of use, or other incentive or preference the manufacturer or an authorized reseller or distributor offers to an authorized repair provider; (3) if a manufacturer does not offer, directly or through an authorized reseller or distributor, the repair material to any authorized repair provider, then provision of such repair material at prices, terms, and conditions that are otherwise determined by the United States Government to be fair and reasonable in accordance with this title and subject to the dispute resolution process outlined in chapter 71 of title 41, United States Code; and (4) if the United States Government did not previously fund the development of the intellectual property of the manufacturer or an authorized reseller or distributor, the Government would pay a fair and reasonable licensing fee to obtain access.. (b) Report Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the implementation of this section. (c) Limitations Nothing in this section shall be construed as altering the requirements in section 2464 and 2466 of title 10, United States Code.

(a) In general Chapter 363 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 862 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section: 4666. Requirement for contractors to provide reasonable access to repair materials (a) Requirement An agency may not enter into a contract for the procurement of reparable goods or repair services in support of major weapon systems unless the contractor agrees in writing to provide the Department of Defense fair and reasonable access to all the repair materials, including parts, tools, and information, used by the manufacturer or provider or their authorized repair providers to diagnose, analyze, maintain, or repair the good or service. (b) Waiver The Secretary of Defense, or the head of the procuring agency in the case of a delegated authority, may waive the requirements of this section with respect to a particular contract or class of contracts upon a written determination that application of those requirements would have a negative impact on cost, schedule, or technical performance. (c) Protection for intellectual property, proprietary, and trade secret information Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the unauthorized disclosure or release of intellectual property, commercially confidential information, or trade secrets. The Secretary of Defense shall take all necessary steps to protect such information from disclosure to the extent otherwise protected by law. (d) Fair and reasonable access defined In this section, the term fair and reasonable access means, as applicable— (1) prices, terms, and conditions that allow the Department of Defense the rights to provide the repair materials to an authorized contractor consistent with section 3771 of title 10, United States Code, and the Government’s product support strategy; (2) provision at prices, terms, and conditions that are equivalent to the most favorable prices, terms, and conditions under which the manufacturer or an authorized reseller or distributor offers the repair material to an authorized repair provider, accounting for any discount, rebate, convenient and timely means of delivery, means of enabling fully restored and updated functionality, rights of use, or other incentive or preference the manufacturer or an authorized reseller or distributor offers to an authorized repair provider; (3) if a manufacturer does not offer, directly or through an authorized reseller or distributor, the repair material to any authorized repair provider, then provision of such repair material at prices, terms, and conditions that are otherwise determined by the United States Government to be fair and reasonable in accordance with this title and subject to the dispute resolution process outlined in chapter 71 of title 41, United States Code; and (4) if the United States Government did not previously fund the development of the intellectual property of the manufacturer or an authorized reseller or distributor, the Government would pay a fair and reasonable licensing fee to obtain access.. (b) Report Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the implementation of this section. (c) Limitations Nothing in this section shall be construed as altering the requirements in section 2464 and 2466 of title 10, United States Code.