Legacy Program

A legacy program (LP) is any effort, by any type of organization, to collect, reverse engineer, or study technologies of unknown origin or biological evidence of non-human intelligence, as long as that effort started before the law that defined the term was enacted. The definition covers a wide range of actors: federal, state, and local governments, private companies, universities, and other private groups.

Who defined this term and where does it come from?

The definition appears in a U.S. statute. It is listed as item number 11 in a definitions section of the law. The law does not name a specific agency or office as the author. It simply sets out the meaning as part of a broader list of defined terms.

What does a legacy program actually cover?

An LP covers five types of activity: collecting, exploiting, or reverse engineering "technologies of unknown origin," and examining "biological evidence of living or deceased non-human intelligence." All five must have taken place before the law's enactment date to qualify. The definition reaches across every sector, including government at all levels, commercial industry, academia, and the private sector.

What does the definition leave out?

The definition does not cover efforts that began on or after the date the law was enacted. Those newer efforts fall outside the LP label. The SOURCE also does not explain what happens to LPs once identified, or what obligations the label creates. The definition only states what the term means, nothing more.

How is the term used in the records?

The SOURCE shows the term defined within a definitions section alongside other terms such as "leadership of Congress." The SOURCE does not include examples of how LP is applied elsewhere in the law's text.