Export Controls:
Exchanges of Information with Foreign Colleagues

In general, the majority of exchanges between researchers off-campus can go forward without the requirement of an export license where the sole purpose of the meeting is to present research findings that have been or are intended to be published. Provided they do not concern detailed information regarding defense articles that are found on the Munitions List, international conferences and/or presentations of research which are limited to published or publishable research are covered by the “publicly available/public domain” exclusions provided by the regulations and no export license is needed when these discussions take place during participation in these conferences.

However, where there is the possibility of exchange with a foreign national or foreign entity of technical information not yet published regarding a defense article found on the Munitions List, the researchers should be aware of the following:

The U.S. Export Regulations (ITAR) only permits unlicensed export of:

  1. general systems description of defense articles
  2. basic marketing information on function or purpose
  3. information concerning general scientific, mathematic or engineering principles commonly taught in schools, college and universities, and
  4. information in the public domain (i.e., available through sale at newsstands and bookstores, through subscriptions which are available without restriction to any individual who desires to obtain or purchase the published information, at libraries open to the public or from which the publican can obtain documents, through patents available at any patent office, through unlimited distribution at a conference meeting seminar, trade show, or exhibition generally accessible to the public in the United States and through fundamental research in science and engineering at accredited institutions of higher learning in the U.S. where the resulting information is ordinarily published and shared broadly in the scientific community.)

Technical information which falls within the meaning of the first categories above and is NOT ITAR-controlled includes top-level drawings, top-level narrative descriptions or summaries of performance requirements, key subsystems, design capabilities or manufacturing facilities. Likewise, top-level description of reliability analyses, top-level block diagrams, top-level description of operational modes, top-level equipment layout drawings, and top-level predictions of power usage or consumption do not require a license.

However, technical information which IS likely to be ITAR-controlled, and thus require an export license before sharing with a foreign national or foreign entity, includes detailed information about “how-to” design, manufacture and test; design, manufacture, test methodology or philosophy; technical trade-off methodology or detailed alternatives, detailed test data or test procedures, detailed description of integration and test plans, or detailed schematics diagrams or interface information, as well as manufacturing or assembly processes or analytical methods of procedures.

Researchers should also be aware that exports of all other technical information about a defense article can take place either through exchange of documents, through oral exchanges in person or by telephone, or by electronic exchanges, including fax transmission or email. Furthermore, the ITAR prohibits the furnishing of assistance, including training, related to a defense article to foreign persons.