U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR)

This page is intended to serve as a reference for IEEE volunteers and staffs on one of two U.S. export control regulations that have recently received increased attention within IEEE. This regulation is the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The other US export compliance regulation being reviewed is the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulation, which is currently under discussion. (For more information on IEEE's position on OFAC, please visit www.ieee.org/ofac.)

While IEEE remains a transnational organization - with members, volunteers and authors from all around the globe - awareness of these regulations has become increasingly important, particularly in terms of their impact on IEEE publications. Recent conversations with the U.S. Department of State have clarified IEEE's responsibilities with respect to ITAR and this web page is intended to communicate that clarification.

International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR)

ITAR controls the export and import of defense articles and defense services as detailed in the U.S. Munitions List. Information in the public domain is outside the purview of ITAR. (Please note that proprietary company information is not considered to be in the public domain.)

All authors submitting material to IEEE are expected to obtain any needed clearances for their works to be freely published in IEEE publications. Authors who:

are U.S. nationals (including green card holders);
work for a U.S.-based organization, regardless of where they are physically located; or,
work at a U.S. location of a non-U.S.-based organization

must also ensure that ITAR compliance has been obtained for any and all papers submitted to IEEE for publication. IEEE assumes that each author involved in government contracts will meet their contract obligations and that these obligations will, by definition, satisfy the requirements for ITAR compliance. This is consistent with longstanding IEEE policy that authors obtain necessary approvals before publishing with IEEE.

Conference organizers and periodicals editors should be sure to make mention of these responsibilities when soliciting submissions.

While explicit certification of ITAR compliance is not mandatory, conference organizers and periodical editors may nevertheless feel the need for explicit confirmation from an author that ITAR clearance has been obtained for a paper being submitted. In such cases, the IEEE U.S. Export Control Compliance Form can be used to obtain that confirmation. Should the IEEE U.S. Export Control Compliance Form (PDF, 74KB) be used, please note that it should be collected prior to distributing the material for review.

If you have any questions about ITAR, please contact us at itar@ieee.org.