SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Secrecy and License to Export.

OMB Control Number: 0651-0034.

Abstract: In the interest of national security, patent laws and regulations place certain limitations on the disclosure of information contained in patents and patent applications and on the filing of applications for patents in foreign countries.

This information collection includes the information needed by the USPTO to review the various types of petitions regarding secrecy orders and foreign filing licenses. This collection of information is required by 35 U.S.C. ( printed page 21450) 181-186 and is administered by the USPTO through 37 CFR 5.1-5.5, 5.11-5.15, 5.18-5.20, and 5.25.

Secrecy Orders

Whenever the publication or disclosure of an invention by the publication of an application or by the granting of a patent is, in the opinion of the head of an interested Government agency, determined to be detrimental to national security, the USPTO Commissioner for Patents must issue a secrecy order and withhold the publication of a patent application and the grant of a patent for such period as the national interest requires. A patent will not be issued on the application, nor will the application be published, as long as the secrecy order is in force. If a secrecy order is applied to an international application, the application will not be forwarded to the International Bureau as long as the secrecy order is in effect.

The Commissioner for Patents can issue three types of secrecy orders, each of a different scope. The first type, Secrecy Order and Permit for Foreign Filing in Certain Countries, is intended to permit the widest utilization of the technical data in the patent application while still controlling any publication or disclosure that would result in an unlawful exportation. The second type, the Secrecy Order and Permit for Disclosing Classified Information, is to treat classified technical data presented in a patent application in the same manner as any other classified material. The third type of secrecy order, the General Secrecy Order, is used where the other types of orders do not apply, including orders issued by direction of agencies other than the Department of Defense.

Under the provision of 35 U.S.C. 181, a secrecy order remains in effect for a period of one year from its date of issuance. A secrecy order may be renewed for additional periods of not more than one year upon notice by a government agency that the national interest continues to so require it. The applicant is notified of the renewal.

When the USPTO places a secrecy order on a patent application, the regulations authorize the applicant to petition the USPTO for permits to allow disclosure, modification, or rescission of the secrecy order, or to obtain a general or group permit. In each of these circumstances, the petition is forwarded to the appropriate defense agency for decision. Also, the Commissioner for Patents may rescind any order upon notification by the heads of the departments and the chief officers of the agencies who caused the order to be issued that the disclosure of the invention is no longer deemed detrimental to national security.

Unless expressly ordered otherwise, action on the application and prosecution by the applicant will proceed during the time the application is under secrecy order to a specific point as indicated under 37 CFR 5.3. See the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) Section 130 (9th ed., rev. 01.2024, November 2024). For example, prosecution of a national application under a secrecy order may proceed only to the point where it is found to be in condition for allowance. See 37 CFR 5.3(c). Prosecution of international applications under a secrecy order, on the other hand, will proceed only to the point before record and search copies would be transmitted to the international authorities or the applicant. See 37 CFR 5.3(d). National applications under secrecy order that come to a final rejection must be appealed or otherwise prosecuted to avoid abandonment. Appeals in such cases must be completed by the applicant, but unless specifically indicated by the Commissioner of Patents, will not be set for hearing until the secrecy order is removed.

Foreign Filing License

This information collection also covers information gathered with respect to foreign filing licenses. The filing of a patent application is considered a request for a foreign filing license. However, in some instances an applicant may need a license for filing patent applications in foreign countries prior to a filing in the USPTO or sooner than the anticipated licensing of a pending patent application.

For such circumstances, this information collection covers petitions for a foreign filing license either with or without a corresponding United States application. In addition, this information collection covers petitions to change the scope of a license and petitions for a retroactive license for instances when a patent application is filed through error in a foreign country without the appropriate filing license.

Forms: None.

Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved information collection.

Affected Public: Private sector.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.

Frequency: On occasion.

Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 7,318 respondents.

Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 7,318 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses in this information collection will take the public approximately 30 minutes (0.50 hours) to 4 hours to complete. This includes the time to gather the necessary information, create the document, and submit the completed item to the USPTO.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 4,207 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $1,623,052.

Since the publication of the 60-day notice, the USPTO has updated the postage costs rates associated with this information collection. This results in an increase of $76 in non-hourly burden, for a new estimated total annual respondent cost burden of $1,623,052.

91 FR 21449