Patent Law FAQ
This FAQ answers all your questions about patent law, patent procedure, and the patent examination process.
Here’s the complete FAQ:
MPEP 115-Review of Applications for National Security and Property Rights Issues (1)
- Hand-carried to Licensing and Review
- Mailed to the USPTO in compliance with 37 CFR 5.1(a) and Executive Order 13526
- Filed via the Department of Defense Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET) – these will be considered filed via the USPTO patent electronic filing system
MPEP 130-Examination of Secrecy Order Cases (1)
If an examiner comes across a patent application that contains national security markings but does not have a Secrecy Order imposed, MPEP 130 instructs that “the examiner should require the applicant to seek imposition of a Secrecy Order or authority to cancel the markings.” This should be done preferably with the first office action and before final disposition of the application.
37 CFR 5.1(d) states that if no Secrecy Order has issued, the USPTO will set a time period for the applicant to take one of three actions to prevent abandonment:
- Obtain a Secrecy Order
- Declassify the application
- Submit evidence of a good faith effort to obtain a Secrecy Order under 37 CFR 5.2(a)
Additionally, per 37 CFR 5.1(e), “a national security classified patent application will not be allowed until the application is declassified and any Secrecy Order pursuant to 37 CFR 5.2(a) has been rescinded.”
Patent Law (2)
If an examiner comes across a patent application that contains national security markings but does not have a Secrecy Order imposed, MPEP 130 instructs that “the examiner should require the applicant to seek imposition of a Secrecy Order or authority to cancel the markings.” This should be done preferably with the first office action and before final disposition of the application.
37 CFR 5.1(d) states that if no Secrecy Order has issued, the USPTO will set a time period for the applicant to take one of three actions to prevent abandonment:
- Obtain a Secrecy Order
- Declassify the application
- Submit evidence of a good faith effort to obtain a Secrecy Order under 37 CFR 5.2(a)
Additionally, per 37 CFR 5.1(e), “a national security classified patent application will not be allowed until the application is declassified and any Secrecy Order pursuant to 37 CFR 5.2(a) has been rescinded.”
National security classified patent applications may be filed with the USPTO in the following ways:
- Hand-carried to Licensing and Review
- Mailed to the USPTO in compliance with 37 CFR 5.1(a) and Executive Order 13526
- Filed via the Department of Defense Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET) – these will be considered filed via the USPTO patent electronic filing system
The applicant must also either obtain a secrecy order or provide authority to cancel the security markings per 37 CFR 5.1(d).