---
type: "LegalText"
title: "15 U.S.C. § 5104"
description: "Protection of proprietary rights"
jurisdiction: "us"
corpus: "united_states_code"
kind: "code_section"
title_number: 15
title_name: "COMMERCE AND TRADE"
chapter_number: "77"
chapter_name: "STEEL AND ALUMINUM ENERGY CONSERVATION AND TECHNOLOGY COMPETITIVENESS"
section: "5104"
citation: "15 U.S.C. § 5104"
status: "current"
release_point: "119-100"
release_date: "2026-06-26"
source: "official"
source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc15@119-100.zip"
source_identifier: "/us/usc/t15/s5104"
source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-15/usc15.xml"
source_hash: "6f659b820cfcbc2ff159529d74031995dc845423ea1ba3c4f53247e8818a69e9"
raw_snapshot_hash: "6982338d990ef19d6b52bff6825089bdd6d0ee1233d9382673faf533decd5059"
text_hash: "e302e930ebb9eedd43510a8ed10e149b9bbcebdbb0cd6af39dac2247ce652eec"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
confidence: "official"
tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
---

# 15 U.S.C. § 5104 - Protection of proprietary rights

## Text

(a) Proprietary rights No trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential, under the meaning of section 552(b)(4) of title 5 which is obtained from a domestic company shall be disclosed in the conduct of the management plan or research plan, or as a result of activities under this chapter.

(b) Patent rights vested in United States All patent rights from inventions developed under the management plan or the research plan implemented pursuant to this chapter shall be vested in accordance with section 5908 of title 42.

(Pub. L. 100–680, § 5, Nov. 17, 1988, 102 Stat. 4075.)