Citation[]
Invention Secrecy Act of 1951, codified at 35 U.S.C. §§181-188.
Overview[]
Under the Act, patent applications on new inventions can be subject to secrecy orders restricting their publication if government agencies believe that disclosure would be "detrimental to the national security." The patent is withheld, and the invention described in the application is subject to various degrees of restriction, depending on its sensitivity, from export controls to national security classification.