[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 37, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 37CFR5.1]

[Page 240]
 
              TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
 
  CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES 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
 
Sec. 5.1  Applications and correspondence involving national security.

    (a) All correspondence in connection with this part, including 
petitions, should be addressed to: Commissioner for Patents (Attention 
Licensing and Review), P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450.
    (b) Application as used in this part includes provisional 
applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(b) (Sec. 1.9(a)(2) of this 
chapter), nonprovisional applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) or 
entering the national stage from an international application after 
compliance with 35 U.S.C. 371 (Sec. 1.9(a)(3)), or international 
applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty prior to entering 
the national stage of processing (Sec. 1.9(b)).
    (c) Patent applications and documents relating thereto that are 
national security classified (see Sec. 1.9(i) of this chapter) and 
contain authorized national security markings (e.g., ``Confidential,'' 
``Secret'' or ``Top Secret'') are accepted by the Office. National 
security classified documents filed in the Office must be either hand-
carried to Licensing and Review or mailed to the Office in compliance 
with paragraph (a) of this section.
    (d) The applicant in a national security classified patent 
application must obtain a secrecy order pursuant to Sec. 5.2(a). If a 
national security classified patent application is filed without a 
notification pursuant to Sec. 5.2(a), the Office will set a time period 
within which either the application must be declassified, or the 
application must be placed under a secrecy order pursuant to Sec. 
5.2(a), or the applicant must submit evidence of a good faith effort to 
obtain a secrecy order pursuant to Sec. 5.2(a) from the relevant 
department or agency in order to prevent abandonment of the application. 
If evidence of a good faith effort to obtain a secrecy order pursuant to 
Sec. 5.2(a) from the relevant department or agency is submitted by the 
applicant within the time period set by the Office, but the application 
has not been declassified or placed under a secrecy order pursuant to 
Sec. 5.2(a), the Office will again set a time period within which either 
the application must be declassified, or the application must be placed 
under a secrecy order pursuant to Sec. 5.2(a), or the applicant must 
submit evidence of a good faith effort to again obtain a secrecy order 
pursuant to Sec. 5.2(a) from the relevant department or agency in order 
to prevent abandonment of the application.
    (e) An application will not be published under Sec. 1.211 of this 
chapter or allowed under Sec. 1.311 of this chapter if publication or 
disclosure of the application would be detrimental to national security. 
An application under national security review will not be published at 
least until six months from its filing date or three months from the 
date the application was referred to a defense agency, whichever is 
later. A national security classified patent application will not be 
published under Sec. 1.211 of this chapter or allowed under Sec. 1.311 
of this chapter until the application is declassified and any secrecy 
order under Sec. 5.2(a) has been rescinded.
    (f) Applications on inventions made outside the United States and on 
inventions in which a U.S. Government defense agency has a property 
interest will not be made available to defense agencies.

[65 FR 54682, Sept. 8, 2000, as amended at 65 FR 57060, Sept. 20, 2000; 
68 FR 14338, Mar. 25, 2003]

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