The FAR and DFARS clauses for copyright and patent do not expressly address the scenario where the government agency desires to retain ownership of the software developed during the performance of a contract for software development. The FAR and DFARS clauses seem to say, if a contractor is paid to develop software during the life a government contract, at the expiration of the contract, the contractor has ownership or title to the software developed at government expense/funding, but the government gets the right to use the software/data produced ("unlimited data rights").
So my question is, is there any way to lawfully structure a government contract to ensure that the government gets ownership, not just a license, to the data produced, software developed, and the source code, at the end of a contract? How would all this be harmonized with the FAR and DFARS clauses? Would this involve seeking an individual deviation from the FAR and DFARS?
There was a similar discussion on Government Data Rights in Wifcon at this link, but I want to expand on it further:
http://www.wifcon.com/discussion/index.php?/topic/1337-government-data-rights/page__hl__copyright