# Congress Debates Defense Data Rights

The House and Senate versions of the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act would make government purpose rights the default for certain technical data and software, potentially allowing the Department of Defense to share those materials with other contractors performing government work. The final language remains unsettled as lawmakers negotiate the bill, leaving contractors uncertain about how the provision could affect intellectual-property protections, sustainment competition, and contract costs.

- Contractors should assess how broader data-rights terms could affect proprietary technical data and software in current and future DoD work.
- A shift toward government purpose rights could enable more competition for sustainment work by allowing DoD to share covered materials with other government contractors.
- Companies can follow the NDAA conference process and evaluate the potential effects of the competing House and Senate approaches on their contract costs and IP strategies.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military
**Topics:** Policy
**Published:** November 09, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)
- House Armed Services Committee (HASC)
- Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC)

### Key Quotes
> It enables the Department of Defense to negotiate from a stronger position. And it decreases some of those monopolies that exist within contracts in the sustainment world.
> — Virginia Burger, Senior Defense Policy Analyst, Project on Government Oversight

> The main thing I just want to put out is that we’re not trying to harm industry.
> — Jimmy Byrn, Chief Legislative Liaison, U.S. Army

### Sources
- [Defense industry takes aim at 'right to repair' as NDAA decision looms - Breaking Defense](https://breakingdefense.com/2026/11/defense-industry-takes-aim-at-right-to-repair-as-ndaa-decision-looms) - Breaking Defense