A community resource for the acquisition workforce not a .gov website
part52.dev Federal Acquisition Clause Monitor
DFARS Clause ACTIVE

252.227-7020

Rights in special works.
Search on acquisition.gov · View on eCFR.gov
Effective Date
JUN 1995
Active Deviations
1
Versions
1 (since 2016-12-22)
RFO
Removed Under RFO

This clause is marked [Reserved] under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (Deviation 2026-O0036). It no longer applies to contracts using the RFO model.

View deviation details
252.227-7020 Rights in special works.

As prescribed in 227.7105-3, 227.7106(a) or 227.7205(a), use the following clause:

Rights in Special Works (JUN 1995)

(a)
Applicability.
This clause applies to works first created, generated, or produced and required to be delivered under this contract.

(b)
Definitions.
As used in this clause:

(1) "Computer data base" means a collection of data recorded in a form capable of being processed by a computer. The term does not include computer software.

(2) "Computer program" means a set of instructions, rules, or routines recorded in a form that is capable of causing a computer to perform a specific operation or series of operations.

(3) "Computer software" means computer programs, source code, source code listings, object code listings, design details, algorithms, processes, flow charts, formulae and related material that would enable the software to be reproduced, recreated, or recompiled. Computer software does not include computer data bases or computer software documentation.

(4) "Computer software documentation" means owner's manuals, user's manuals, installation instructions, operating instructions, and other similar items, regardless of storage medium, that explain the capabilities of the computer software or provide instructions for using the software.

(5) "Unlimited rights" means the rights to use, modify, reproduce, perform, display, release, or disclose a work in whole or in part, in any manner, and for any purpose whatsoever, and to have or authorize others to do so.

(6) The term "works" includes computer data bases, computer software, or computer software documentation; literary, musical, choreographic, or dramatic compositions; pantomimes; pictorial, graphic, or sculptural compositions; motion pictures and other audiovisual compositions; sound recordings in any medium; or, items of similar nature.

(c)
License rights.
(1) The Government shall have unlimited rights in works first produced, created, or generated and required to be delivered under this contract.

(2) When a work is first produced, created, or generated under this contract, and such work is required to be delivered under this contract, the Contractor shall assign copyright in those works to the Government. The Contractor, unless directed to the contrary by the Contracting Officer, shall place the following notice on such works: "
©
(
Year date of delivery
) United States Government, as represented by the Secretary of (
department
). All rights reserved."

For phonorecords, the "
©
" markings shall be replaced by a "P".

(3) The Contractor grants to the Government a royalty-free, world-wide, nonexclusive, irrevocable license to reproduce, prepare derivative works from, distribute, perform, or display, and to have or authorize others to do so, the Contractor's copyrighted works not first produced, created, or generated under this contract that have been incorporated into the works deliverable under this contract.

(d)
Third party copyrighted data.
The Contractor shall not incorporate, without the written approval of the Contracting Officer, any copyrighted works in the works to be delivered under this contract unless the Contractor is the copyright owner or has obtained for the Government the license rights necessary to perfect a license of the scope identified in paragraph (c)(3) of this clause and, prior to delivery of such works—

(1) Has affixed to the transmittal document a statement of the license rights obtained; or

(2) For computer software, has provided a statement of the license rights obtained in a form acceptable to the Contracting Officer.

(e)
Indemnification.
The Contractor shall indemnify and save and hold harmless the Government, and its officers, agents and employees acting for the Government, against any liability, including costs and expenses, (1) for violation of proprietary rights, copyrights, or rights of privacy or publicity, arising out of the creation, delivery, use, modification, reproduction, release, performance, display, or disclosure of any works furnished under this contract, or (2) based upon any libelous or other unlawful matter contained in such works.

(f)
Government-furnished information.
Paragraphs (d) and (e) of this clause are not applicable to information furnished to the Contractor by the Government and incorporated in the works delivered under this contract.

(End of clause)

[60 FR 33504, June 28, 1995]
RFO
Prescription superseded under the RFO

The prescription shown below is from the codified eCFR. Under the RFO, the prescribing section may have been revised, relocated or reserved. See the deviation memorandum for the current prescription authority.

View deviation: 2026-O0036 →
227.7105-3
Use the clause at 252.227-7020, Rights in Special Works, in solicitations and contracts for modified existing works in lieu of the clause at 252.227-7021, Rights in Data-Existing Works.
Prescription data sourced from eCFR as of 2026-06-10 03:16 UTC. Cross-references within the prescription are not resolved automatically.

Regulatory Stack

The layers of regulation that govern this clause, from the FAR prescription through agency-specific supplements and any active deviations.

R-DFARS R-DFARS Prescription Per Deviation 2026-O0036 (DFARS Part 227)
2026-O0036: DFARS RFO Implementation (Part 27) — DFARS Part 227

View Deviation 2026-O0036 →

DFARS DFARS Supplement (eCFR) ⚠ May be superseded by RFO 227.7105-3
Use the clause at 252.227-7020, Rights in Special Works, in solicitations and contracts for modified existing works in lieu of the clause at 252.227-7021, Rights in Data-Existing Works.

Search on acquisition.gov · View on eCFR.gov

Version History

Version history is sourced from the codified eCFR. Changes published only as class deviations or by the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul do not appear here until they are incorporated into the eCFR. For RFO-driven changes see the RFO Version tab and any active deviations cited above.

No version history available from eCFR.

Active Class Deviations

DFARS RFO Implementation (Part 27) Modify clause 252.227-7020
MODIFIED
Use with AI assistant
Copy a link and prompt for use with Gemini or another AI assistant.