Code of Federal Regulations
Title 37, Volume 1
Revised as of July 1, 1998
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
CITE: 37CFR5
[Page 185-191]
TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
CHAPTER I--PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
PART 5--SECRECY OF CERTAIN INVENTIONS
AND LICENSES TO EXPORT AND FILE APPLICATIONS
IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Table of Contents
Secrecy Orders
Sec.
5.1 Correspondence.
5.2 Secrecy order.
5.3 Prosecution of application under secrecy orders; withholding
patent.
5.4 Petition for rescission of secrecy order.
5.5 Permit to disclose or modification of secrecy order.
5.6--5.8 [Reserved]
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
international application.
5.12 Petition for license.
5.13 Petition for license; no corresponding application.
5.14 Petition for license; corresponding U.S. application.
5.15 Scope of license.
5.16--5.17 [Reserved]
5.18 Arms, ammunition, and implements of war.
5.19 Export of technical data.
5.20 Export of technical data relating to sensitive nuclear technology.
5.25 Petition for retroactive license.
General
5.31--5.33 [Reserved]
Authority: 35 U.S.C. 6, 41, 181-188, as amended by the Patent Law
Foreign Filing Amendments Act of 1988, Pub. L. 100-418, 102 Stat. 1567;
the Arms Export Control Act, as amended, 22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq., the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq., and the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978, 22 U.S.C. 3201 et seq., and the
delegations in the regulations under these acts to the Commissioner (15
CFR 370.10(j), 22 CFR 125.04, and 10 CFR 810.7).
Source: 24 FR 10381, Dec. 22, 1959, unless otherwise noted.
[[Page 186]]
Secrecy Orders
Sec. 5.1 Correspondence.
All correspondence in connection with this part, including
petitions, must be addressed to "Assistant Commissioner for Patents
(Attention Licensing and Review), Washington, DC 20231."
[62 FR 53203, Oct. 10, 1997]
Sec. 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 detrimental to the national security, an order that the
invention be kept secret will be issued by the Commissioner of Patents
and Trademarks.
(b) Any request for compensation as provided in 35 U.S.C. 183 must
not be made to the Patent and Trademark Office, but directly to the
department or agency which caused the secrecy order to be issued.
[24 FR 10381, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 62 FR 53203, Oct. 10, 1997]
Sec. 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 Sec. 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 Sec. 1.311 of this
chapter) does not require reply 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 Sec. 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; 62
FR 53203, Oct. 10, 1997]
Sec. 5.4 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.
(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) 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 sixty days from the date of the denial,
[[Page 187]]
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.
[24 FR 10381, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 62 FR 53204, Oct. 10, 1997]
Sec. 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.
(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) Organizations requiring consent for disclosure of applications
under secrecy 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.
[24 FR 10381, Dec. 22, 1959, as amended at 62 FR 53204 Oct. 10, 1997]
Secs. 5.6--5.8 [Reserved]
Licenses for Foreign Exporting and Filing
Sec. 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 foreign 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 relating 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 779 (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
[[Page 188]]
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 120 through 130 (International Traffic in Arms
Regulations of the Department of State), 15 CFR parts 768-799 (Export
Administration Regulations of the Department of Commerce) and 10 CFR
part 810 (Assistance to Foreign Atomic Energy Activities Regulations 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 Sec. 5.2
being placed thereon. The term "exported" means export as it is
defined in 22 CFR part 120, 15 CFR part 779 and activities covered by 10
CFR part 810.
(d) If a secrecy order has been issued under Sec. 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 Sec. 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
(2) If the corresponding United States application is not subject to
a secrecy order under Sec. 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
(iii) Such modifications, amendments, 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.
(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; 62
FR 53204, Oct. 10, 1997]
Sec. 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 petitioner's address and full instructions for delivery
of the requested license when it is to be delivered to other than the
petitioner. If expedited handling of the petition under this paragraph
is sought, the petition must also include the fee set forth in
Sec. 1.17(h).
(35 U.S.C. 6, Pub. L. 97-247)
[48 FR 2714, Jan. 20, 1983, as amended at 49 FR 13462, Apr. 4, 1984; 62
FR 53204, Oct. 10, 1997]
Sec. 5.13 Petition for license; no corresponding application.
If no corresponding national or international application has been
filed in the United States, the petition for license under Sec. 5.12(b)
must also be accompanied by a legible copy of the material upon which a
license is desired. This copy will be retained as a measure of the
license granted.
[62 FR 53204, Oct. 10, 1997]
Sec. 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 Sec. 5.12(b) must also identify this
application by application number, filing date, inventor, and title, but
a copy of the material
[[Page 189]]
upon which the license is desired is not required. The subject matter
licensed will be measured by the disclosure of the United States
application.
(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, as amended at 49 FR 13462, Apr. 4, 1984; 62
FR 53204, Oct. 10, 1997]
Sec. 5.15 Scope of license.
(a) Applications or other materials reviewed pursuant to Secs. 5.12
through 5.14, which were not required to be made available for
inspection by defense agencies under 35 U.S.C. 181, 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. Grant of this license authorizing 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) or (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 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, 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 will be eligible for a
license of the scope provided in this paragraph. 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
[[Page 190]]
patent agency. Further, this license includes authority to export and
file all duplicate and formal papers in foreign countries or with
foreign and international patent agencies and to make amendments,
modifications, and supplements to, file divisions of, and take any
action in the prosecution of the foreign or international application,
provided subject matter additional to that covered by the license is not
involved.
(c) A license granted under Sec. 5.12(b) pursuant to Sec. 5.13 or
Sec. 5.14 shall have the scope indicated in paragraph (a) of this
section, if it is so specified in the license. A petition, accompanied
by the required fee (Sec. 1.17(h)), may also be filed to change a
license having the scope indicated in paragraph (b) of this section to a
license having the scope indicated in paragraph (a) of this section. No
such petition will be granted if the copy of the material filed pursuant
to Sec. 5.13 or any corresponding United States application was required
to be made available for inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181. The change in
the scope of a license will be effective as of the date of the grant of
the petition.
(d) In those cases in which no license is required to file the
foreign application or transmit the international application, no
license is required to file papers in connection with the prosecution of
the foreign or international application not involving the disclosure of
additional subject matter.
(e) Any paper filed abroad or transmitted to an international patent
agency following the filing of a foreign or international application
which changes the general nature of the subject matter disclosed at the
time of filing in a manner which would require such application to have
been made available for inspection under 35 U.S.C. 181 or which involves
the disclosure of subject matter listed in paragraphs (a)(3)(i) or (ii)
of this section must be separately licensed in the same manner as a
foreign or international application. Further, if no license has been
granted under Sec. 5.12(a) on filing the corresponding United States
application, any paper filed abroad or with an international patent
agency which involves the disclosure of additional subject matter must
be licensed in the same manner as a foreign or international
application.
(f) Licenses separately granted in connection with two or more
United States applications may be exercised by combining or dividing the
disclosures, as desired, provided:
(1) Subject matter which changes the general nature of the subject
matter disclosed at the time of filing or which involves subject matter
listed in paragraph (a)(3) (i) or (ii) of this section is not
introduced, and
(2) In the case where at least one of the licenses was obtained
under Sec. 5.12(b), additional subject matter is not introduced.
(g) A license does not apply to acts done before the license was
granted. See Sec. 5.25 for petitions for retroactive licenses.
[49 FR 13462, Apr. 4, 1984, as amended at 56 FR 1928, Jan. 18, 1991; 62
FR 53204, Oct. 10, 1997]
Secs. 5.16--5.17 [Reserved]
Sec. 5.18 Arms, ammunition, and implements of war.
(a) The exportation of technical data relating to arms, ammunition,
and implements of war generally is subject to the International Traffic
in Arms Regulations of the Department of State (22 CFR parts 120 through
130); the articles designated as arms, ammunitions, and implements of
war are enumerated in the U.S. Munitions List (22 CFR part 121).
However, if a patent applicant complies with regulations issued by the
Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks under 35 U.S.C. 184, no separate
approval from the Department of State is required unless the applicant
seeks to export technical data exceeding that used to support a patent
application in a foreign country. This exemption from Department of
State regulations is applicable regardless of whether a license from the
Commissioner is required by the provisions of Secs. 5.11 and 5.12 (22
CFR part 125).
(b) When a patent application containing subject matter on the
Munitions List (22 CFR part 121) is subject to a secrecy order under
Sec. 5.2 and a petition is made under Sec. 5.5 for a modification of the
secrecy order to permit filing abroad, a separate request to the
[[Page 191]]
Department of State for authority to export classified information is
not required (22 CFR part 125).
[62 FR 53205, Oct. 10, 1997]
Sec. 5.19 Export of technical data.
(a) Under regulations (15 CFR 770.10(j)) established by the
Department of Commerce, a license is not required in any case to file a
patent application or part thereof in a foreign country if the foreign
filing is in accordance with the regulations (Secs. 5.11 through 5.25)
of the Patent and Trademark Office.
(b) An export license is not required for data contained in a patent
application prepared wholly from foreign-origin technical data where
such application is being sent to the foreign inventor to be executed
and returned to the United States for subsequent filing in the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office (15 CFR 779A.3(e)).
[62 FR 53205, Oct. 10, 1997]
Sec. 5.20 Export of technical data relating to sensitive nuclear
technology.
Under regulations (10 CFR 810.7) established by the United States
Department of Energy, an application filed in accordance with the
regulations (Secs. 5.11 through 5.25) of the Patent and Trademark Office
and eligible for foreign filing under 35 U.S.C. 184, is considered to be
information available to the public in published form and a generally
authorized activity for the purposes of the Department of Energy
regulations.
[62 FR 53205, Oct. 10, 1997]
Sec. 5.25 Petition for retroactive license.
(a) A petition for a retroactive license under 35 U.S.C. 184 shall
be presented in accordance with Sec. 5.13 or Sec. 5.14(a), and shall
include:
(1) A listing of each of the foreign countries in which the
unlicensed patent application material was filed,
(2) The dates on which the material was filed in each country,
(3) A verified statement (oath or declaration) containing:
(i) An averment that the subject matter in question was not under a
secrecy order at the time it was filed aboard, and that it is not
currently under a secrecy order,
(ii) A showing that the license has been diligently sought after
discovery of the proscribed foreign filing, and
(iii) An explanation of why the material was filed abroad through
error and without deceptive intent without the required license under
Sec. 5.11 first having been obtained, and
(4) The required fee (Sec. 1.17(h)).
The above explanation must include a showing of facts rather than a mere
allegation of action through error and without deceptive intent. The
showing of facts as to the nature of the error should include statements
by those persons having personal knowledge of the acts regarding filing
in a foreign country and should be accompanied by copies of any
necessary supporting documents such as letters of transmittal or
instructions for filing. The acts which are alleged to constitute error
without deceptive intent should cover the period leading up to and
including each of the proscribed foreign filings.
(b) If a petition for a retroactive license is denied, a time period
of not less than thirty days shall be set, during which the petition may
be renewed. Failure to renew the petition within the set time period
will result in a final denial of the petition. A final denial of a
petition stands unless a petition is filed under Sec. 1.181 within two
months of the date of the denial. If the petition for a retroactive
license is denied with respect to the invention of a pending application
and no petition under Sec. 1.181 has been filed, a final rejection of
the application under 35 U.S.C. 185 will be made.
[49 FR 13463, Apr. 4, 1984, as amended at 56 FR 1929, Jan. 18, 1991; 62
FR 53206, Oct. 10, 1997]
General
Secs. 5.31--5.33 [Reserved]