The expectation is that this Challenge, at the end of Phase III, would result in several validated RNA-targeting technologies that are publicly available.  Production of a technology as a marketable product or as a free product meets this requirement – while technology is not required to be free access, it must be publicly available.  As stated in the Challenge (Participation Rule 7) - each Participant (whether participating as a Team or Entity) grants to the NIH an irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free nonexclusive worldwide license to reproduce, publish, post, link to, share, and display publicly the submission on the web or elsewhere. Each Participant will retain all other intellectual property rights in their submissions, as applicable. To participate in the Challenge, each Participant must warrant that there are no legal obstacles to providing the above-referenced nonexclusive licenses of the Participant’s rights to the federal government. To receive an award, Participants will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights to NIH, but Participants must grant to the federal government the nonexclusive licenses recited herein. Only the Title and Executive Summary from participant submission will be posted publicly, as stated in the Submission Requirements section of the Challenge - Title and Executive Summary, the latter of which should include a brief description of the technology and how it will help to develop novel RNA-targeted therapies across multiple diseases. Do not include any proprietary or confidential information in the Title and Executive Summary sections as they may be publicly shared if the Participant is selected to win a prize across any Phase of this Challenge (see Participation Rule 7).

If a submitter has concern about IP and public disclosure issues based on publishing the title of their solution, when submitting, ensure that the title does not include any proprietary information or detail that would cause issues.  If you need further guidance, please consult with an intellectual property expert.