Zakon o ratifikaciji Sporazuma med Vlado Republike Slovenije in Vlado Združenih držav Amerike o znanstvenem in tehnološkem sodelovanju (BUSZTS)

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the United States of America (hereinafter referred to as "the Parties");

Recognizing the importance of science and technology in the development of prosperous national economies;

Convinced that international cooperation in science and technology will strengthen the bonds of friendship and understanding between their peoples and will advance the state of science and technology to the benefit of both countries and mankind in general;

Wishing to resume and expand the scientific and technological cooperation which has been developed between the two countries in the past under the Agreement signed on June 27, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1988 Agreement");

Convinced of the need for further developing mutually beneficial scientific and technological cooperation;

and

Recalling the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe;

Have agreed as follows:

1. The Parties shall develop, support and facilitate scientific and technological cooperation between cooperating organizations of their two countries on the basis of the principles of equality, overall reciprocity, and mutual benefit. This cooperation may be undertaken in such fields as basic science, environmental protection, medical sciences and health,, agriculture, engineering research, energy, natural resources and their utilization, transportation, standardization, science and technology policy and management, and other areas of science and technology as may be agreed by the Joint Board established in accordance with Articles IX and X of this Agreement.

2. Cooperating organizations may include academies of sciences, scientific institutes, scientific societies, government agencies, universities and other research and development organizations of both countries.

3. Cooperative activities under this Agreement may include coordinated and joint research, projects, studies, and investigations; joint scientific courses, workshops, conferences and symposia; exchange of science and technology information and documentation in the context of cooperative activities; exchange of scientists, specialists, and researchers; exchanges or sharing of equipment or materials; and other forms of scientific and technological cooperation as may be agreed by the Joint Board.

Cooperation under this Agreement shall be subject to the applicable national laws and regulations of the Parties and to the availability of appropriated funds.

1. Cooperative activities under this Agreement will take place under implementing memoranda of understanding or other arrangements concluded between government agencies of the two sides (hereinafter "implementing arrangements"). Such implementing arrangements may cover the subjects of cooperation, procedures, funding, allocation of costs, and other relevant matters.

2. Ongoing scientific and technological cooperative activities between cooperating organizations under the 1988 Agreement shall continue under and be governed by this Agreement.

With respect to cooperative activities under this Agreement, each Party shall, in accordance with its laws and regulations, facilitate:

(a) prompt and efficient entry into and exit from its territory of appropriate equipment, instrumentation and project information;

(b) prompt and efficient entry into and exit from its territory and domestic travel and work of persons participating in the implementation of this Agreement;

(c) provision of access to relevant geographic areas, data, materials, institutions, and persons participating in the implementation of this Agreement; and

(d) comparable access to major government-sponsored or government-supported programs and facilities for visiting researchers and comparable access to and exchange of information in the field of scientific and technological research and development.

Provisions for the protection and distribution of intellectual property created or furnished in the course of cooperative activities under this Agreement are set forth in Annex A, which is an integral part of this Agreement.

Scientific and technological information of a nonproprietary nature derived from the cooperative activities under this Agreement shall be made available, unless otherwise agreed in writing under implementing arrangements, to the world scientific community through customary channels and in accordance with current procedures of the cooperating organizations.

Scientists, technical experts and institutions of other countries or international organizations may be invited, upon consent of both Parties, to participate at their own expense, unless otherwise agreed, in activities being carried out under this Agreement.

Nothing in this Agreement shall prejudice arrangements for scientific and technological cooperation not under this Agreement between cooperating organizations of the Parties.

For the purposes of implementing this Agreement, the. Parties shall establish a Slovenia-U. S. Joint Board on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (hereinafter the "Joint Board"). The Joint Board shall:

(a) recommend to the Parties overall policies under the Agreement;

(b) identify fields and forms of cooperation in accordance with Article I, paragraphs 1 and 3;

(c) review, assess and make specific recommendations concerning scientific and technological cooperative activities;

(d) review specific cooperative activities that have been recommended by government agencies on both sides and approved for funding by the Executive Agents (as provided in Article XI);

(e) prepare periodic reports concerning the activities of the Joint Board and cooperative activities undertaken under this Agreement for submission to the Minister of Science and Technology or the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and the Secretary of State of the United States of America and;

(f) undertake such further functions as may be agreed by the Parties.

1. The Joint Board shall consist of four government representatives, two of whom shall be designated by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and two of whom shall be designated by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Government of the United States of America. Each Party may designate alternate members, as necessary.

2. The Joint Board shall meet annually, alternately in Slovenia and the United States, and additionally as determined by the Parties.

3. The Joint Board shall select a chairman from among its members for a one year term.

4. The Joint Board shall act by consensus.

1. Each Party shall have an Executive Agent; The Executive Agents shall be the Ministry of Science and Technology for the Republic of Slovenia and the Department of State for the United States of America.

2. The Executive Agents shall exercise overall oversight, management and coordination of cooperative activities under this Agreement.

3. Proposals for cooperative activities that have been recommended by government agencies on both sides will be forwarded to the Executive Agents to approve the allocation of funds to such activities.

4. The Executive Agents shall manage the Joint Fund established under Article XII in support of approved cooperative activities.

5. The Executive Agents shall prepare working papers for sessions of the Joint Board.

For purposes of developing proposals, implementing arid providing financial support for cooperative activities under this Agreement, the Parties shall establish a Joint Fund, to consist of equal contributions from both Parties. The principles for the establishment of the Joint Fund are set forth in Annex B, which constitutes an integral part of this Agreement.

1. This Agreement shall enter into force upon an exchange of diplomatic notes confirming that the Parties have completed their respective internal requirements necessary for the entry into force for five years. Upon entry into force, this Agreement shall supersede the 1988 Agreement as between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the United States of America. The Parties may extend this Agreement by written agreement.

2. Either Party may terminate this Agreement upon six months written notice to the other Party. The termination of this Agreement shall not affect the completion of any cooperative activity undertaken under this Agreement and not fully completed at the time of the termination of this Agreement.

3. This Agreement may be amended by written agreement of the Parties.

In witness thereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.

Done in Washington, D. C., this 29th day of April, 1993, in duplicate, in the Slovene and English languages, both texts being equally authentic.

Pursuant to Article V of this Agreement: The Parties shall ensure adequate and effective protection of intellectual property created or furnished under this Agreement and relevant implementing arrangements. The Parties agree to notify one another in a timely fashion of any inventions or copyrighted works arising under this Agreement and to seek protection for such intellectual property in a timely fashion. Rights to such intellectual property shall be allocated as provided in this Annex.

A. This Annex is applicable to all cooperative activities undertaken pursuant to this Agreement, except as otherwise specifically agreed by the Parties or their designees.

B. For purposes of this Agreement, "intellectual property" shall have the meaning found in Article 2 of the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, done at Stockholm, July 14, 1967.

C. This Annex addresses the allocation of rights, interests, and royalties between the Parties. Each Party shall ensure that the other Party can obtain the rights to intellectual property allocated in accordance with the Annex, by obtaining those rights from its own participants through contracts or other legal means, if necessary. This Annex does not otherwise alter or prejudice the allocation between a Party and its nationals, which shall be determined by that Party's laws and practices.

D. Disputes concerning intellectual property arising under this Agreement should be resolved through discussions between the concerned participating institutions or, if necessary, the Parties or their designees. Upon mutual agreement of the Parties, a dispute shall be submitted to an arbitral tribunal for binding arbitration in accordance with the applicable rules of international law. Unless the Parties or their designees agree otherwise in writing, the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) shall govern.

E. Termination or expiration of this Agreement shall not affect rights or obligations under this Annex.

A. Each Party shall be entitled to a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free license in all countries to translate, reproduce, and publicly distribute scientific and technical journal articles, reports, and books directly arising from cooperation under this Agreement. All publicly distributed copies of a copyrighted work prepared under this provision shall indicate the names of the authors of the work unless an author explicitly declines to be named.

B. Rights to all forms of intellectual property, other than those rights described in Section II.A. above, shall be allocated as follows:

1. Visiting researchers, for example, scientists visiting primarily in furtherance of their education, shall receive intellectual property rights under the policies of the host institution. In addition, each visiting researcher named as an inventor shall be entitled to share in a portion of any royalties earned by the host institution from the licensing of such intellectual property.

2. (a) For intellectual property created during joint research, for example, when the Parties, participating institutions, or participating personnel have agreed in advance on the scope of work, each Party shall be entitled to obtain all rights and interests in its own territory. Rights and interests in third countries will be determined in implementing arrangements. If research is not designated as »joint research« in the relevant implementing arrangements, rights to intellectual property arising from the research will be allocated in accordance with paragraph II.B.(l). In addition, each person named as an inventor shall be entitled to share in a portion of any royalties earned by either institution from the licensing of the property.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph II.B.2.(a), if a type of intellectual property is protected under the laws of one Party but not the other Party, the Party whose laws provide for this type of protection shall be entitled to all rights and interests worldwide. Persons named as inventors of the property shall nonetheless be entitled to royalties as provided in paragraph II.B.2.(a).

In the event that information identified in a timely fashion as business-confidential is furnished or created under the Agreement, each Party and its participants shall protect such information in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and administrative practice. Information may be identified as "business-confidential" if a person having the information may derive an economic benefit from it or may obtain a competitive advantage over those who do not have it, the information is not generally known or publicly available from other sources, and the owner has not previously made the information available without imposing in a timely manner an obligation to keep it confidential.

1. Both Parties undertake, subject to the availability of appropriated funds, to make equal annual contributions to the Joint Fund. The amount of each contribution shall be specified and agreed on by exchange of official correspondence.

2. To the extent consistent with national laws and regulations, the Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure the monetary integrity of the Joint Fund by placing the funds into interest-bearing accounts.

3. The Parties shall have equal roles in the administration of the Joint Fund. Procedures for administering the Joint Fund, and for using funds to develop, organize and support scientific and technological cooperative activities should be made as simple and efficient as possible.

4. Monies contributed to the Joint Fund shall be managed by the Executive Agents referred to in Article XI.

5. The administrative expenses of Joint Board activities shall be covered by sums arising from the interest on deposits to the Joint Fund. Should funds derived from interest earnings be insufficient to cover such expenses, the balance may be borrowed or supplied from the Joint Fund itself.

6. The establishment and functioning of the Joint Fund shall not prevent cooperating organizations on both sides from making separate and complementary arrangements for funding of cooperative activities. Cooperating organizations with separate funding sources are not precluded from participating in cooperative activities under the Joint Fund.

7. Any additional specific arrangements for the administration and use of the Joint Fund and for repayment of credit (see paragraph 5) shall be as agreed by the Joint Board.

8. In the event this Agreement terminates or expires, the Parties shall consult as to the appropriate disposition of funds remaining in the Joint Fund.

I. PROTECTION OF INFORMATION

Both parties agree that no information or equipment requiring protection in the interests of national defense or foreign relations of either Party and classified in accordance with the applicable national laws and regulations shall be provided under this Agreement. In the event that information of equipment which is known or believed to require such protection is identified in the course of cooperative activities undertaken pursuant to this Agreement, it shall be brought immediately to the attention of the appropriate officials and the Parties shall consult concerning the need for and level of appropriate protection to be accorded such information or equipment.

II. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

The transfer of unclassified export-controlled information or equipment between the Parties shall be in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of each Party to prevent the unauthorized transfer or retransfer of such information or equipment provided or produced under this Agreement. If either Party deems it necessary, detailed provision for the prevention of unauthorized transfer or retransfer of such information or equipment shall be incorporated into the contracts or implementing arrangements.