SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2014, Issue No. 80
December 1, 2014

Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blogs/secrecy/

INVENTION SECRECY ORDERS REACH A 20 YEAR HIGH

On October 27, 1977, Dr. Gerald F. Ross filed a patent application for a new invention he had devised to defeat the jamming of electromagnetic transmissions at specified frequencies. But it was not until June 17, 2014 -- nearly 37 years later -- that his patent was finally granted (Anti-jam apparatus for baseband radar systems, patent number 8,754,801).

In the interim, Dr. Ross's patent application had been subject to a secrecy order under the Invention Secrecy Act of 1951, which both prevented issuance of the patent and prohibited its public disclosure.

At the end of Fiscal Year 2014 (on September 30), there were 5,520 such invention secrecy orders in effect, according to statistics released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under the Freedom of Information Act.

That is the highest number of invention secrecy orders in effect since 1994. It is unclear whether this reflects growing innovation in sensitive technology areas, or a more restrictive approach to disclosure by government agencies.

In fact, the overwhelming majority of current secrecy orders were issued in prior years, but there were 97 new secrecy orders that were imposed in FY 2014. Meanwhile, there were 22 existing orders that were rescinded, including the order concerning Dr. Ross's invention.

Under the Invention Secrecy Act, secrecy orders may be imposed whenever, in the judgment of an executive branch agency, the disclosure of a patent application would be "detrimental to the national security." This is a lower, less demanding standard than that for national security classification (which applies to information that could "cause damage to national security") and not all secret inventions are classified. Some may be unclassified but export controlled, or otherwise restricted.

Other newly disclosed inventions formerly subject to a secrecy order that was rescinded by the government during the past year include these (according to data obtained from the Patent and Trademark Office):

Method of producing warheads containing explosives, patent number 8,689,669

Method of treating a net made from ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, patent number 8,808,602

Ballistic modification and solventless double propellant, and method thereof, patent number 8,828,161

Ballistic modifier formulation for double base propellant, patent number 8,864,923

Synthetic aperture radar smearing, patent number 8,836,569

US MILITARY CASUALTY STATISTICS, AND MORE FROM CRS

Noteworthy new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following.

A Guide to U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation New Dawn, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom, November 20, 2014:

Iran: U.S. Economic Sanctions and the Authority to Lift Restrictions, November 21, 2014:

U.S. Secret Service Protection Mission Funding and Staffing: Fact Sheet, November 25, 2014:

The Obama Administration's November 2014 Immigration Initiatives: Questions and Answers, November 24, 2014:

The Obama Administration's Announced Immigration Initiative: A Primer, CRS Legal Sidebar, November 24, 2014:

Department of Homeland Security: FY2015 Appropriations, November 20, 2014:

Congress Faces Calls to Address Expiring ACA Appropriations, CRS Insights, November 25, 2014:

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Recent Trends and Factors, November 24, 2014:

Cybersecurity: FISMA Reform, CRS Insights, November 24, 2014:

Welfare, Work, and Poverty Status of Female-Headed Families with Children: 1987-2013, November 21, 2014:

Overview of the Federal Tax System, November 21, 2014:

Food Recalls and Other FDA Administrative Enforcement Actions, November 20, 2014:

A Federal Pause in Potentially Risky Influenza Research, CRS Insights, November 24, 2014:

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Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists.

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