Raytheon Vendor Lists Aren’t Technical Data, Can Be Protected

Raytheon Co. showed that the US Army violated a defense regulation when it ordered the contractor to remove its data rights markings from contract vendor lists or face payment withholding under its Patriot missile weapon system contract, the US Court of Federal Claims said.

The regulation provides that the Department of Defense may assert rights to contractors’ technical data. The Army asserted that Raytheon had to remove the markings because the vendor lists contained names of technical parts, part numbers, and suppliers the Army needed to maintain systems and databases.

But the vendor lists don’t contain technical data; they’re “just ...