international authority other than the United States Receiving Office, or (2) transmittal of an international application to a foreign agency or an international authority other than the United States Receiving Office is considered to be a foreign filing within the meaning of Chapter 17 of Title 35, United States Code.

(b) In accordance with the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 181, patent applications containing subject matter the disclosure of which might be detrimental to the national security are made available for inspection by defense agencies as specified in said section. Only applications obviously relating to national security, and applications within fields indicated to the Patent and Trademark Office by the defense agencies as so related, are made available. The inspection will be made only by responsible representatives authorized by the agency to review applications. Such representatives are required to sign a dated acknowledgement of access accepting the condition that information obtained from the inspection will be used for no purpose other than the administration of 35 U.S.C. 181-188. Copies of applications may be made available to such representatives for inspection outside the Patent and Trademark Office under conditions assuring that the confidentiality of the applications will be maintained, including the conditions that: (1) All copies will be returned to the Patent and Trademark Office promptly if no secrecy order is imposed, or upon rescission of such order if one is imposed, and (2) no additional copies will be made by the defense agencies. A record of the removal and return of copies made available for defense inspection will be maintained by the Patent and Trademark Office. Applications relating to atomic energy are made available to the Department of Energy as specified in § 1.14 of this chapter.

(Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685) [43 FR 20470, May 11, 1978]

§ 5.2 Secrecy order.

(a) When notified by the chief officer of a defense agency that publication or disclosure of the invention by the granting of a patent would be det

rimental to the national security, an order that the invention be kept secret will be issued by the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks.

(b) The secrecy order is directed to the applicant, his successors, any and all assignees, and their legal representatives; hereinafter designated as principals.

(c) A copy of the secrecy order will be forwarded to each principal of record in the application and will be accompanied by a receipt, identifying the particular principal, to be signed and returned.

(d) The secrecy order is directed to the subject matter of the application. Where any other application in which a secrecy order has not been issued discloses a significant part of the subject matter of the application under secrecy order, the other application and the common subject matter should be called to the attention of the Patent and Trademark Office. Such a notice may include any material such as would be urged in a petition to rescind secrecy orders on either of the applications.

§ 5.3 Prosecution of application under secrecy orders; withholding patent.

Unless specifically ordered otherwise, action on the application by the Office and prosecution by the applicant will proceed during the time an application is under secrecy order to the point indicated in this section:

(a) National applications under secrecy order which 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 otherwise specifically ordered by the Commissioner will not be set for hearing until the secrecy order is removed.

(b) An interference will not be declared involving national applications under secrecy order. However, if an applicant whose application is under secrecy order seeks to provoke an interference with an issued patent, a notice of that fact will be placed in the file wrapper of the patent. (See § 1.607(d))

(c) When the national application is found to be in condition for allowance

except for the secrecy order the applicant and the agency which caused the secrecy order to be issued will be notified. This notice (which is not a notice of allowance under § 1.311 of this chapter) does not require response by the applicant and places the national application in a condition of suspension until the secrecy order is removed. When the secrecy order is removed the Patent and Trademark Office will issue a notice of allowance under § 1.311 of this chapter, or take such other action as may then be warranted.

(d) International applications under secrecy order will not be mailed, delivered or otherwise transmitted to the international authorities or the applicant. International applications under secrecy order will be processed up to the point where, if it were not for the secrecy order, record and search copies would be transmitted to the international authorities or the applicant.

(Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685)

[43 FR 20470, May 11, 1978, as amended at 53 FR 23736, June 23, 1988]

85.4 Petition for rescission of secrecy order.

(a) A petition for rescission or removal of a secrecy order may be filed by, or on behalf of, any principal affected thereby. Such petition may be in letter form, and it must be in duplicate. The petition must be accompanied by one copy of the application or an order for the same, unless a showing is made that such a copy has already been furnished to the department or agency which caused the secrecy order to be issued.

(b) The petition must recite any and all facts that purport to render the order ineffectual or futile if this is the basis of the petition. When prior publications or patents are alleged the petition must give complete data as to such publications or patents and should be accompanied by copies thereof.

(c) The petition must identify any contract between the Government and any of the principals, under which the subject matter of the application or any significant part thereof was developed, or to which the subject matter is

otherwise related. If there is no such contract, the petition must so state.

(d) Unless based upon facts of public record, the petition must be verified.

§ 5.5 Permit to disclose or modification of secrecy order.

(a) Consent to disclosure, or to the filing of an application abroad, as provided in 35 U.S.C. 182, shall be made by a "permit" or "modification" of the secrecy order.

(b) Petitions for a permit or modification must fully recite the reason or purpose for the proposed disclosure. Where any proposed disclosee is known to be cleared by a defense agency to receive classified information, adequate explanation of such clearance should be made in the petition including the name of the agency or department granting the clearance and the date and degree thereof. The petition must be filed in duplicate and be accompanied by one copy of the application or an order for the same, unless a showing is made that such a copy has already been furnished to the department or agency which caused the secrecy order to be issued.

(c) In a petition for modification of a secrecy order to permit filing abroad, all countries in which it is proposed to file must be made known, as well as all attorneys, agents and others to whom the material will be consigned prior to being lodged in the foreign patent office. The petition should include a statement vouching for the loyalty and integrity of the proposed disclosees and where their clearance status in this or the foreign country is known all details should be given.

(d) Consent to the disclosure of subject matter from one application under secrecy order may be deemed to be consent to the disclosure of common subject matter in other applications under secrecy order so long as not taken out of context in a manner disclosing material beyond the modification granted in the first application. (e) The permit or modification may contain conditions and limitations.

§ 5.6 General and group permits.

(a) Organizations requiring consent for disclosure of applications under se

crecy order to persons or organizations in connection with repeated routine operation may petition for such consent in the form of a general permit. To be successful such petitions must ordinarily recite the security clearance status of the disclosees as sufficient for the highest classification of material that may be involved.

(b) Where identical disclosees and circumstances are involved, and consent is desired for the disclosure of each of a specific list of applications, the petitions may be joined.

$5.7 Compensation.

Any request for compensation as provided in 35 U.S.C. 183 must not be made to the Patent and Trademark Office but should be made directly to the department or agency which caused the secrecy order to be issued. Upon written request persons having a right to such information will be informed as to the department or agency which caused the secrecy order to be issued.

§ 5.8 Appeal to Secretary.

Appeal to the Secretary of Commerce, as provided by 35 U.S.C. 181, from a secrecy order cannot be taken until after a petition for rescission of the secrecy order has been made and denied. Appeal must be taken within 60 days from the date of the denial, and the party appealing, as well as the department or agency which caused the order to be issued will be notified of the time and place of hearing. The appeal will be heard and decided by the Secretary or such officer or officers as he may designate.

LICENSES FOR FOREIGN EXPORTING AND FILING

§ 5.11 License for filing in a foreign country an application on an invention made in the United States or for transmitting an international application. (a) A license from the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks under 35 U.S.C. 184 is required before filing any application for patent including any modifications, amendments, or supplements thereto or divisions thereof or for the registration of a utility model, industrial design, or model, in a for

eign patent office or any foreign patent agency or any international agency other than the United States Receiving Office, if the invention was made in the United States and:

(1) An application on the invention has been on file in the United States less than six months prior to the date on which the application is to be filed,

or

(2) No application on the invention has been filed in the United States.

(b) The license from the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks referred to in paragraph (a) would also authorize the export of technical data abroad for purposes related to the preparation, filing or possible filing and prosecution of a foreign patent application without separately complying with the regulations contained in 22 CFR parts 121 through 130 (International Traffic in Arms Regulations of the Department of State), 15 CFR part 379 (Regulations of the Office of Export Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce) and 10 CFR part 810 (Foreign Atomic Energy Programs of the Department of Energy).

(c) Where technical data in the form of a patent application, or in any form, is being exported for purposes related to the preparation, filing or possible filing and prosecution of a foreign patent application, without the license from the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks referred to in paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section, or on an invention not made in the United States, the export regulations contained in 22 CFR parts 121 through 130 (International Traffic in Arms Regulations of the Department of State), 15 CFR part 379 (Regulations of Office of Export Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce) and 10 CFR part 810 (Foreign Atomic Energy Programs of the Department of Energy) must be complied with unless a license is not required because a United States application was on file at the time of export for at least six months without a secrecy order under § 5.2 being placed thereon. The term "exported" means export as it is defined in 22 CFR parts

121 through 130, 15 CFR part 379 and 10 CFR part 810.

(d) If a secrecy order has been issued under § 5.2, an application cannot be exported to, or filed in, a foreign country (including an international agency in a foreign country), except in accordance with § 5.5.

(e) No license pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section is required:

(1) If the invention was not made in the United States, or

United

(2) If the corresponding States application is not subject to a secrecy order under § 5.2, and was filed at least six months prior to the date on which the application is filed in a foreign country, or

(3) For subsequent modifications, amendments and supplements containing additional subject matter to, or divisions of, a foreign patent application if:

(i) A license is not, or was not, required under paragraph (e)(2) of this section for the foreign patent application;

(ii) The corresponding United States application was not required to be made available for inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181 and § 5.1; and

amend

(iii) Such modifications, ments, and supplements do not, or did not, change the general nature of the invention in a manner which would require any corresponding United States application to be or have been available for inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181 and § 5.1.

(f) A license pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section can be revoked at any time upon written notification by the Patent and Trademark Office. An authorization to file a foreign patent application resulting from the passage of six months from the date of filing of a United States patent application may be revoked by the imposition of a secrecy order.

[49 FR 13461, Apr. 4, 1984, as amended at 56 FR 1928, Jan. 18, 1991]

§ 5.12 Petition for license.

(a) Filing of an application for patent for inventions made in the United States will be considered to include a petition for license under 35 U.S.C. 184 for the subject matter of the application. The filing receipt will

indicate if a license is granted. If the initial automatic petition is not granted, a subsequent petition may be filed under paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) Petitions for license should be presented in letter form and must include the required fee (§ 1.17(h)), if expedited handling of the petition is also sought, the petitioner's address, and full instructions for delivery of the requested license when it is to be delivered to other than the petitioner.

(35 U.S.C. 6, Pub. L. 97-247)

[48 FR 2714, Jan. 20, 1983, as amended at 49 FR 13462, Apr. 4, 1984]

§ 5.13 Petition for license; no corresponding application.

or

If no corresponding national international application has been filed in the United States, the petition for license under § 5.12(b) must be accompanied by the required fee (§ 1.17(h)), if expedited handling of the petition is also sought, and a legible copy of the material upon which a license is desired. This copy will be retained as a measure of the license granted. For assistance in the identification of the subject matter of each license so issued, it is suggested that the petition be submitted in duplicate and provide a title and other description of the material. The duplicate copy of the petition will be returned with the license or other action on the petition. [49 FR 13462, Apr. 4, 1984]

§ 5.14 Petition for license; corresponding U.S. application.

(a) When there is a corresponding United States application on file, a petition for license under § 5.12(b) must include the required fee (§ 1.17(h)), if expedited handling of the petition is also sought, and must identify this application by serial number, filing date, inventor, and title, but a copy of the material upon which the license is desired is not required. The subject matter licensed will be measured by the disclosure of the United States application. Where the title is not descriptive, and the subject matter is clearly of no interest from a security standpoint, time may be saved by a

short statement in the petition as to the nature of the invention.

(b) Two or more United States applications should not be referred to in the same petition for license unless they are to be combined in the foreign or international application, in which event the petition should so state and the identification of each United States application should be in separate paragraphs.

(c) When the application to be filed or exported abroad contains matter not disclosed in the United States application or applications, including the case where the combining of two or more United States applications introduces subject matter not disclosed in any of them, a copy of the application as it is to be filed in the foreign country or international application which is to be transmitted to a foreign international or national agency for filing in the Receiving Office, must be furnished with the petition. If however, all new matter in the foreign or international application to be filed is readily identifiable, the new matter may be submitted in detail and the remainder by reference to the pertinent United States application or applications.

(Pub. L. 94-131, 89 Stat. 685)

[43 FR 20471, May 11, 1978, and 49 FR 13462, Apr. 4, 1984]

§ 5.15 Scope of license.

(a) Applications or other materials reviewed pursuant to §§ 5.12 through 5.14, which were not required to be made available for inspection by defense agencies under 35 U.S.C. 181 and § 5.1, will be eligible for a license of the scope provided in this paragraph. This license permits subsequent modifications, amendments, and supplements containing additional subject matter to, or divisions of, a foreign patent application, if such changes to the application do not alter the general nature of the invention in a manner which would require the United States application to have been made available for inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181 and 5.1. This license also covers the inventions disclosed in foreign applications which had been granted a license under this part prior to April 4, 1984, and which were not subject to security inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181 and

§ 5.1. Grant of this license authorizes the export and filing of an application in a foreign country or the transmitting of an international application to any foreign patent agency or international patent agency when the subject matter of the foreign or international application corresponds to that of the domestic application. This license includes authority:

(1) To export and file all duplicate and formal application papers in foreign countries or with international agencies;

(2) To make amendments, modifications, and supplements, including divisions, changes or supporting matter consisting of the illustration, exemplification, comparison, or explanation of subject matter disclosed in the application; and

(3) To take any action in the prosecution of the foreign or international application provided that the adding of subject matter or taking of any action under paragraphs (a) (1) and (2) of this section does not change the general nature of the invention disclosed in the application in a manner which would require such application to have been made available for inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181 and § 5.1 by including technical data pertaining to:

(i) Defense services or articles designated in the United States Munitions List applicable at the time of foreign filing, the unlicensed exportation of which is prohibited pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act, as amended, and 22 CFR parts 121 through 130; or

(ii) Restricted Data, sensitive nuclear technology or technology useful in the production or utilization of special nuclear material or atomic energy, the dissemination of which is subject to restrictions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978, as implemented by the regulations for Unclassified Activities in Foreign Atomic Energy Programs, 10 CFR part 810, in effect at the time of foreign filing.

(b) Applications or other materials which were required to be made available for inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181 and § 5.1 will be eligible for a license of the scope provided in this paragraph. Grant of this license authorizes the