FAR 27.405-2—Existing works.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 27.405-2 explains when the Government should use the clause at 52.227-18, Rights in Data-Existing Works, and what kinds of acquisitions it covers. This section is limited to contracts for buying existing works in their current form, such as motion pictures, television recordings, sound recordings, musical, dramatic, literary, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, pantomime, choreographic, and similar works. It also recognizes that the contract may impose use restrictions tied to the Government’s purpose for buying the work, including limits on exhibition or transmission, the time period for use, the audience, and the geographic area. The section’s practical purpose is to distinguish a true purchase of finished creative works from a procurement that involves modifying those works, because the latter is handled under FAR 27.405-1 instead. In practice, this matters because the clause selection affects the Government’s rights, the contractor’s retained rights, and the allowable restrictions on use. Contracting officers must therefore identify whether the requirement is for an existing work as-is or for a work that will be edited, translated, or otherwise altered before delivery.
Key Rules
Use for existing works only
The clause at 52.227-18 is intended for contracts that acquire existing works without modification. It applies to finished creative works such as audiovisual, sound, literary, dramatic, musical, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, pantomime, and choreographic works, as well as similar works.
No modification requirement
If the Government needs the work edited, translated, supplemented, or otherwise changed, this section does not apply. In that case, the acquisition should be handled under FAR 27.405-1 rather than as a purchase of an existing work.
Permissible use limitations
The contract may include restrictions that are consistent with the purpose of the acquisition. Examples include limits on how the work may be exhibited or transmitted, when it may be used, who may view it, and where it may be used geographically.
Restrictions must match purpose
Any limitation placed in the contract should be tied to the reason the Government is buying the work. The section allows tailored restrictions, but they should not conflict with the acquisition’s intended use or create rights beyond what the contract contemplates.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Determine whether the requirement is for an existing work in finished form or for a modified work. Select the proper clause, ensure any use restrictions are consistent with the acquisition purpose, and avoid using this section when the work must be edited, translated, or otherwise changed.
Agency/Program Office
Define the intended use of the work, including any needed limits on exhibition, transmission, audience, timing, or geography. Provide enough detail so the contracting officer can draft restrictions that align with the mission need.
Contractor
Provide the existing work in the agreed form and comply with any contract limitations on use, distribution, exhibition, transmission, audience, or location. If the requirement involves modification rather than a finished work, ensure the contract terms reflect that scope.
Legal/Policy Advisors
Support clause selection and rights analysis when the acquisition involves copyrighted creative works or when the scope between existing works and modified works is unclear. Help ensure restrictions and rights language are legally consistent.
Practical Implications
This section is a clause-selection guide: the key question is whether the Government is buying a finished work or commissioning changes to it.
A common pitfall is treating an edited or translated product as an existing work purchase; that can lead to the wrong rights clause and unclear ownership or usage rights.
Contracting officers should write use restrictions carefully and only as far as needed for the mission, because the section allows limits but expects them to be consistent with the acquisition purpose.
Program offices should specify intended distribution, audience, and geography early, since those factors may need to be reflected in the contract.
When the requirement includes any modification of the work, stop and evaluate FAR 27.405-1 instead of relying on the existing-works clause.
Official Regulatory Text
The clause at 52.227-18 , Rights in Data-Existing Works, is for use in contracts exclusively for the acquisition (without modification) of existing works such as, motion pictures, television recordings, and other audiovisual works; sound recordings; musical, dramatic, and literary works; pantomimes and choreographic works; pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; and works of a similar nature. The contract may set forth limitations consistent with the purposes for which the works covered by the contract are being acquired. Examples of these limitations are means of exhibition or transmission, time, type of audience, and geographical location. However, if the contract requires that works of the type indicated in this paragraph are to be modified through editing, translation, or addition of subject matter, etc. (rather than purchased in existing form), then see 27.405-1 .