No. The delegation of authority to the USPTO from the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) does not provide for this. Applicants are directed to BIS for licensing requests of this type. They may be reached at 202-482-4811.
Category: Patent FAQ
No, applicant must file papers directly with Licensing and Review in accordance with the terms of the secrecy order.
See 37 CFR 5.15(a) and 5.15(b) for the various license scopes. Applicant is reminded that a license only covers a filing in a foreign country and activities related to such filing. A license from the USPTO does not cover sending information abroad for the preparation of a filing in the U.S.
L&R will process what it receives. Applicants must be aware of the license scope that will be afforded by the license, if granted. See 37 CFR 5.15(a) and (b). It is strongly suggested that applicant submit a document that is as closely related as possible to what will be included in the foreign filing. Also, submissions must be in the English language.
Petitions for expedited license filed without a corresponding U.S. application are assigned control numbers – the letter “P” followed by a 5 digit number. These petitions are processed and then stored. When the applicant files a subsequent U.S. patent application, the L&R security screener has no way of determining whether or not a previous petition was filed or whether or not the subject matter is identical. At this time, all petitions for license are treated separately and distinct from any other previous or subsequent petition.
Although publication of the application will not occur until this determination has been completed, 35 USC 184 grants an implicit foreign filing license at 6 months from the filing of the application in the U.S. Therefore, the defense agencies strive to complete this processing within 6 months. However, given the large number of cases forwarded to them, this process often takes longer. Applicant wishing to make inquiries on the timeliness of this process should send an email to DTSAPATENTREVIEW@MAIL.MIL. The USPTO has very limited authority to terminate any security review.
35 USC 181 requires the USPTO to refer any application which it deems the publication of which may be detrimental to national security to an appropriate defense agency for review. If that defense agency makes a positive determination that publication (or export in the form of or which may take the form of a patent application) would be detrimental to national security, that agency would recommend that the application be subject to a secrecy order. If a secrecy order is issued on an application, separate letters to each inventor and the attorney or agent of record will be mailed notifying them of such.
It is not the role of Licensing and Review to determine the need for a license. Rather, the need for a license is a legal decision that lies with the applicant.
No, applicant must file all papers directly with Licensing and Review in accordance with the terms of the secrecy order.
What is a patent?
A patent is a property right granted by the Government of the United States of America to an inventor “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted.