An agency shall not be required to take any further action to submit a copy of a final STEI product to NTIS or one of its affiliates if—

It has designated NTIS to receive a single copy of each STEI product once it has been produced, has made the arrangements specified in § 1180.6, if appropriate, and has made arrangements to receive appropriate certification from a contractor, grantee or other external performer of federally funded research that a copy has been sent to NTIS or one of its affiliates within the appropriate time period pursuant to obligations incurred in the applicable funding agreement (see Appendix to this part) or pursuant to such other system as the agency has established to ensure timely transfer;

The agency and the Director have executed an appropriate agreement or memorandum of understanding establishing an alternative system for compliance; or

The federally funded STEI is protected by copyright for which no license has been reserved to the Government that would allow distribution by NTIS;

The product is an agency generated article that is published in a privately produced journal; or

The agency and the Director, pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section, have agreed that the transfer of a product otherwise covered by these regulations would not be appropriate.

An agency and the Director shall be deemed to be in agreement within the meaning of paragraph (a)(3) of this section if the Director has not objected within 30 days to an agency's written notification of its determination that timely transfer of a product or category of products would not be appropriate under section 108 of the American Technology Preeminence Act. Examples of inappropriate transfers include:

Transfers that could cause significant harm to an agency's existing dissemination program that is operating on a cost recovery basis, is operating in compliance with the policies described by OMB Circular A-130, and for which special arrangements that would permit supplemental distribution by NTIS cannot be negotiated.

Federally funded STEI that has received, or is likely to receive, widespread distribution to most potential users at no charge.