Data rights legends on technical data: unlimited, government purpose, and limited rights

Technical data delivered under a defense contract arrives with a legend or without one, and the marking bears on what the Government may do with the data. Under Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) clause 252.227-7013, in its AUG 2025 version, the Government's license in delivered technical data falls into one of three standard categories: unlimited rights, government purpose rights, or limited rights. Which category applies depends mainly on who paid for the development, and a contractor asserts any restriction by putting the matching legend on the data.

Who funded development decides the category

Paragraph (a) of the clause defines three funding conditions. Development is exclusively at private expense when the costs fall within indirect cost pools, costs not allocated to a Government contract, or a combination of the two. It is exclusively with government funds when no private expense was involved. Mixed funding covers development paid partly through indirect cost pools and partly by costs charged directly to a Government contract.

Paragraph (c) then attaches a license to each condition:

• Unlimited rights apply under (c)(1)(i) to data developed exclusively with Government funds, and paragraph (c)(1) lists other cases, including form, fit, and function data. The clause defines them as the right to use, modify, reproduce, perform, display, release, or disclose the data in any manner and for any purpose, and to authorize others to do so.
• Government purpose rights apply under (c)(2)(i) to data developed with mixed funding. The period is five years, or another negotiated period, counted under (c)(2)(ii) from execution of the contract that required the development, and the Government then has unlimited rights.
• Limited rights apply under (c)(3)(i)(A) to data for items, components, or processes developed exclusively at private expense and marked with the limited rights legend. They allow use within the Government and generally require the asserting party's written permission for release outside it.

The clause defines government purpose as any activity in which the United States Government is a party, including competitive procurement, and excludes use for commercial purposes. DFARS 227.7103-5 describes the same three categories and the nominal five-year period.

What the legends say and where they go

Paragraph (g) states that only the contractor, its subcontractors, or its suppliers may assert restrictions, and that they do so by marking the delivered data. The authorized legends are the government purpose rights, limited rights, and special license rights legends, plus a copyright notice under 17 U.S.C. 401 or 402. Each legend has a heading and a set of blanks:

• GOVERNMENT PURPOSE RIGHTS (g)(3): contract number, contractor name, contractor address, and expiration date. The legend states that no restrictions apply after the expiration date.
• LIMITED RIGHTS (g)(4): contract number, contractor name, and contractor address.
• SPECIAL LICENSE RIGHTS (g)(5)(i): the contract number and the license identifier.

All three legends say that reproductions must carry the markings. Under (g)(1), the legend goes on the transmittal document or storage container and on each page of printed material containing restricted data. When only part of a page is restricted, the contractor identifies that portion, for example by circling or underscoring it. Data sent directly from one computer to another must include a notice of the asserted restrictions. Under (f)(2), the contractor also lists in an Attachment the technical data it wants delivered with restrictions, and the clause bars delivery of restrictively marked data that is not on that list.

Unmarked data

Paragraph (g)(2)(i) says technical data delivered without restrictive markings is presumed to have been delivered with unlimited rights. DFARS 227.7103-10 states the same presumption. Under (g)(2)(ii), the contractor asks, at its own expense, to add conforming and justified markings. The request must reach the Contracting Officer within 6 months of furnishing or delivery, or within an approved extension. It must identify the data, show that the omission was inadvertent and the marking is justified, and acknowledge in writing that the Government has no liability for earlier disclosure or use. Where practicable, the Contracting Officer withholds release of the data while the request is evaluated.

Nonconforming and unjustified markings

The clause separates two problems. A nonconforming marking is one that is not in the format the contract authorizes. DFARS 227.7103-12(a)(1) adds that any marking other than those authorized in 252.227-7013 and 252.227-7018 is nonconforming, as is an authorized marking that departs in form or substance from the clause. Under paragraph (i)(2) of the clause, if the Contracting Officer gives notice and the marking is not removed or corrected within 60 days, the Government may ignore it, or remove or correct it at the contractor's expense.

An unjustified marking is different. Section 227.7103-12(b)(1) describes it as an authorized marking that does not accurately describe the Government's actual rights, such as a limited rights legend on data for items developed exclusively at Government expense. Paragraph (i)(1) allows the Government to ignore, correct, or strike a marking determined to be unjustified under the validation procedures, at the contractor's expense. A contractor's assertion alone does not settle the Government's rights, according to 227.7103-13(a).

What to check

• Is the legend on the transmittal document or storage container and on each page of printed material containing restricted data?
• Do the legend's heading and blanks match its category?
• Is the restrictively marked data on the list the contractor attached to the contract?
• Does any marking fall outside the authorized legends, or depart from their form or substance?

Azcuna's TRACE is one offline viewer for S1000D, MIL-STD-3001 XML, and PDF technical manuals. It keeps the source location and the markings of everything it shows and never modifies the source. It was proposed to NAVAIR under Navy SBIR Phase I topic DON26BZ05-NV078, and the proposal was submitted on September 23, 2026.

Sources

1. 1252.227-7013 Rights in Technical Data - Other Than Commercial Products and Commercial Services (AUG 2025) · Acquisition.gov (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement)
2. 2Subpart 227.71 - Technical Data and Associated Rights · Acquisition.gov (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement)
3. 3227.7103-5 Government rights · Acquisition.gov (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement)