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140 Foreign Filing Licenses [R-2] - 100 Secrecy, Access, National Security, and Foreign Filing
140 Foreign Filing Licenses [R-2]
35 U.S.C. 184 Filing of application in foreign country.
Except when authorized by a license obtained from the Commissioner of Patents a person shall not file or cause or authorize to be filed in any foreign country prior to six months after filing in the United States an application for patent or for the registration of a utility model, industrial design, or model in respect of an invention made in this country. A license shall not be granted with respect to an invention subject to an order issued by the Commissioner of Patents pursuant to section 181 of this title without the concurrence of the head of the departments and the chief officers of the agencies who caused the order to be issued. The license may be granted retroactively where an application has been filed abroad through error and without deceptive intent and the application does not disclose an invention within the scope of section 181 of this title.
The term "application" when used in this chapter includes applications and any modifications, amendments, or supplements thereto, or divisions thereof.
The scope of a license shall permit subsequent modifications, amendments, and supplements containing additional subject matter if the application upon which the request for the license is based is not, or was not, required to be made available for inspection under section 181 of this title and if such modifications, amendments, and supplements do not change the general nature of the invention in a manner which would require such application to be made available for inspection under such section 181. In any case in which a license is not, or was not, required in order to file an application in any foreign country, such subsequent modifications, amendments, and supplements may be made, without a license, to the application filed in the foreign country if the United States application was not required to be made available for inspection under section 181 and if such modifications, amendments, and supplements do not, or did not, change the general nature of the invention in a manner which would require the United States application to have been made available for inspection under such section 181.
35 U.S.C. 185 Patent barred for filing without license.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law any person, and his successors, assigns, or legal representatives, shall not receive a United States patent for an invention if that person, or his successors, assigns, or legal representatives shall, without procuring the license prescribed in section 184 of this title, have made, or consented to or assisted another's making, application in a foreign country for a patent or for the registration of a utility model, industrial design, or model in respect of the invention. A United States patent issued to such person, his successors, assigns, or legal representatives shall be invalid, unless the failure to procure such license was through error and without deceptive intent, and the patent does not disclose subject matter within the scope of section 181 of this title.
35 U.S.C. 186 Penalty.
Whoever, during the period or periods of time an invention has been ordered to be kept secret and the grant of a patent thereon withheld pursuant to section 181 of this title, shall, with knowledge of such order and without due authorization, willfully publish or disclose or authorize or cause to be published or disclosed the invention, or material information with respect thereto, or whoever willfully, in violation of the provisions of section 184 of this title, shall file or cause or authorize to be filed in any foreign country an application for patent or for the registration of a utility model, industrial design, or model in respect of any invention made in the United States, shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.
The amendments made to 35 U.S.C. 184, 185, and 186 by Public Law 100-418 apply to all United States patents granted before, on, or after August 23, 1988, to all applications for United States patents pending on or filed after August 23, 1988, and to all licenses under 35 U.S.C. 184 granted before, on, or after August 23, 1988.
More specifically, paragraphs (c) and (d) of section 9101 of Public Law 100-418 read as follows:
Sec. 9101. INCREASED EFFECTIVENESS OF PATENT LAW
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(c) REGULATIONS.-- The Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to implement the amendments made by this section.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.-- (1) Subject to paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of this subsection, the amendments made by this section shall apply to all United States patents granted before, on, or after the date of enactment of this section, to all applications for United States patents pending on or filed after such date of enactment, and to all licenses under section 184 granted before, on, or after the date of enactment of this section.
(2) The amendments made by this section shall not affect any final decision made by a court or the Patent and Trademark Office before the date of enactment of this section with respect to a patent or application for patent, if no appeal from such decision is pending and the time for filing an appeal has expired.
(3) No United States patent granted before the date of enactment of this section shall abridge or affect the right of any person or his successors in business who made, purchased, or used, prior to such date of enactment, anything protected by the patent, to continue the use of, or sell to others to be used or sold, the specific thing so made, purchased, or used, if the patent claims were invalid or otherwise unenforceable on a ground obviated by this section and the person made, purchased, or used the specific thing in reasonable reliance on such invalidity or unenforceability. If a person reasonably relied on such invalidity or unenforceability, the court before which such matter is in question may provide for the continued manufacture, use, or sale of the thing made, purchased, or used as specified, or for the manufacture, use, or sale of which substantial preparation was made before the date of enactment of this section, and it may also provide for the continued practice of any process practiced, or for the practice of which substantial preparation was made, prior to the date of enactment of this section, to the extent and under such terms as the court deems equitable for the protection of investments made or business commenced before such date of enactment.
(4) The amendments made by this section shall not affect the right of any party in any case pending in court on the date of enactment of this section to have its rights or liabilities --
(A) under any patent before the court, or
(B) under any patent granted after such date of enactment which is related to the patent before the court by deriving priority right under section 120 or 121 of title 35, United States Code, from a patent or an application for patent common to both patents, determined on the basis of the substantive law in effect before the date of enactment of this section.
35 U.S.C. 187 Nonapplicability to certain persons
The prohibitions and penalties of this chapter shall not apply to any officer or agent of the United States acting within the scope of his authority, nor to any person acting upon his written instructions or permission.
35 U.S.C. 188 Rules and regulations, delegation of power.
The Atomic Energy Commission, the Secretary of a defense department, the chief officer of any department or agency of the Government designated by the President as a defense agency of the United States, and the Secretary of Commerce, may separately issue rules and regulations to enable the respective department or agency to carry out the provisions of this chapter, and may delegate any power conferred by this chapter.
37 CFR 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.
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(a) A license from the Commissioner for Patents 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 filed 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 for Patents 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 for Patents 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 § 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 § 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 § 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 § 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.
37 CFR 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) A petition for license must include the fee set forth in § 1.17(h) of this chapter, the petitioner's address, and full instructions for delivery of the requested license when it is to be delivered to other than the petitioner. The petition should be presented in letter form.
37 CFR 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 § 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.
37 CFR 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 § 5.12(b) must also identify this application by application number, filing date, inventor, and title, but a copy of the material 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) Where 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.
37 CFR 5.15 Scope of license.
(a) Applications or other materials reviewed pursuant to §§ 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 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 § 5.12(b) pursuant to § 5.13 or § 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 ( § 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 § 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 § 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 paragraphs (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 § 5.12(b), additional subject matter is not introduced.
(g) A license does not apply to acts done before the license was granted. See § 5.25 for petitions for retroactive licenses.
37 CFR 5.18 Arms, ammunition, and implements of war.
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(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 for Patents 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 for Patents is required by the provisions of §§ 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 § 5.2 and a petition is made under § 5.5 for a modification of the secrecy order to permit filing abroad, a separate request to the Department of State for authority to export classified information is not required (22 CFR part 125).
37 CFR 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 (§§ 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)).
37 CFR 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 (§§ 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.
37 CFR 5.25 Petition for retroactive license.
(a) A petition for retroactive license under 35 U.S.C. 184 shall be presented in accordance with § 5.13 or § 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 abroad, 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 § 5.11 first having been obtained, and
(4) The required fee ( § 1.17(h)).
In the interests of national security, the United States government imposes restrictions on the export of technical information. These restrictions are administered by the Departments of Commerce, State, and/or Energy depending on the subject matter involved. For the filing of patent applications in foreign countries, the authority for export control has been delegated to the Commissioner *>for< Patents **>(note that the term "Commissioner of Patents" is used in Chapter 17 of title 35 of the U.S. Code, but "Commissioner for Patents" is used in the remainder of the statute and in title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations; both titles are understood to represent the same individual)<.
There are two ways in which permission to file a patent application abroad may be obtained: either a petition for a foreign filing license may be granted ( 37 CFR 5.12) or an applicant may wait 6 months after filing a patent application in the USPTO ( 35 U.S.C. 184) at which time a license on that subject matter is no longer required as long as no Secrecy Order has been imposed. 37 CFR 5.11(e)(2).
There are several means by which a foreign filing license may be issued. First, every U.S. origin application filed in the USPTO is considered to include an implicit petition for a foreign filing license. The grant of a license is not immediate or even ensured. If the application is not marked by the security screeners, the petition is granted. This is indicated to the applicant by the presence on the filing receipt of the phrase "Foreign Filing License Granted" and a date. The license becomes effective on the date shown. Further, grant of this license is made of record in the application file by means of a similar notation on the file wrapper of the application below the "Foreign/PCT Applications" data or on the PALM bib-data sheet. The scope of this license is quite broad as set forth in 37 CFR 5.15(a).
Explicit petitions for foreign filing licenses will also be accepted in accordance with 37 CFR 5.12(b)>, and may be faxed to Licensing and Review. See MPEP § 502.01<. Applicants may be interested in such petitions in cases:
(A) in which the filing receipt license is not granted;
(B) in which the filing receipt has not yet been issued ( 37 CFR 5.14(a) or (b));
(C) in which there is no corresponding U.S. application ( 37 CFR 5.13);
(D) in which subject matter additional to that already licensed is sought to be licensed ( 37 CFR 5.14(c) and 5.15(e)); or
(E) in which expedited handling is requested.
The scope of any license granted on these petitions is indicated on the license.
Petitions under 37 CFR 5.14(a) or (b) as well as any license granted on the petition are given paper numbers and endorsed on the file wrapper. Petitions under 37 CFR 5.14(c) are not ordinarily made of record in the file.
Applicants granted a license under 37 CFR 5.12(b) having the relatively narrow scope indicated in 37 CFR 5.15(b) may petition under 37 CFR 5.15(c) to convert the license to the broad scope of 37 CFR 5.15(a). A fee is charged for such a petition. See 37 CFR 1.17(h). If the petition is granted, the change in the scope of the license is effective as of that day.
Finally, a retroactive license may be sought if an unlicensed foreign filing has occurred through error and without deceptive intent. However, the requirements of 37 CFR 5.25 must be fulfilled in order for such a petition to be granted. Note that licenses under 37 CFR 5.25 are only made retroactive with respect to specific acts of foreign filing, and therefore the countries, the actual dates of filing and the establishing of the nature of the error must be provided for each act of proscribed foreign filing for which a retroactive license is sought. Also, the required verified statement must be in oath or declaration form.
Upon written notification from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, any foreign filing license required by 37 CFR 5.11(a) may be revoked. Ordinarily, revocation indicates that additional review of the licensed subject matter revealed the need for referral of the application to the appropriate defense agencies. Revocation of a filing receipt license ( 37 CFR 5.12(a)) does not necessarily mean that a petition under 37 CFR 5.12(b) for a license of narrower scope will not be granted. The revocation becomes effective on the date on which the notice is mailed. Foreign filings which occurred prior to revocation need not be abandoned or otherwise specially treated; however, additional filings without a license are not permitted unless 6 months have elapsed from the filing of any corresponding U.S. application. Papers and other documents needed in support of prosecution of foreign applications may be sent abroad if they comply with any pertinent export regulations. Of course, if and once a Secrecy Order is issued, the restrictions thereof must immediately be observed.
Only the imposition of a Secrecy Order will cause revocation of the authority which arises from 35 U.S.C. 184 to file a foreign patent application 6 months or later after the date of filing of a corresponding U.S. patent application.
The penalties for failing to obtain any necessary license to file a patent application abroad are set forth in 35 U.S.C. 182, 35 U.S.C. 185, and 35 U.S.C. 186 and include loss of patenting rights in addition to possible fine or imprisonment.
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