Government personnel may not use any data from an unsolicited proposal as the basis for a solicitation with another firm unless which condition is met?

• A. The offeror is notified and agrees to intended use
• B. The government pays a fee
• C. The data is strictly confidential
• D. The proposal is awarded

Answer: (C)

When an unsolicited proposal is in play, the government must respect the submitter’s rights to the data inside that proposal. If the government wants to use any part of that data as the basis for a solicitation to other firms, it must first obtain the submitter’s permission for that specific use. In practice, this means the offeror must be notified and must agree in writing to how the data will be used in the new competition. This protects the submitter’s proprietary information and avoids disclosing confidential material without consent.

The other options don’t provide the necessary authorization. Simply paying a fee isn’t the mechanism that grants rights to use the data. Keeping the data strictly confidential by itself doesn’t authorize its use in a new solicitation, and having the proposal awarded doesn’t automatically grant permission to reuse its data for competing firms.