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ARTICLE · 01 MAY 2026

A Practical Guide To Data Rights Marking In U.S. Government Contracts

Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP
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Navigating the complex landscape of data rights marking in U.S. Government contracts requires careful attention to regulatory requirements and recent Federal Circuit decisions.

United StatesGovernment, Public Sector
Darrell Stark
Darrell Stark
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Reprinted with permission from the May 2026 issue of The Intellectual Property Strategist. © 2026 ALM Global Properties, LLC. Further duplication without permission is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Introduction & Overview

For those that follow or are otherwise thrust into intellectual property (IP) issues in the realm of U.S. Government (USG) contracting, the notion of “data rights marking” has been a recurring topic since at least December 2020 when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its decision in Boeing Co. v. Secretary of the Air Force, 983 F.3d 1321 (Fed. Cir. 2020). Since then, it has only become more prevalent, including with proposed regulatory amendments and the Federal Circuit’s decision last year in FlightSafety International v. Secretary of the Air Force, 130 F.4th 926 (Fed. Cir. 2025). Although this area of USG contract practice is not particularly flashy, it is fraught with potential pitfalls. Improper or non-conforming data rights markings

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