______________________________ 
The Ministry of Business and Growth, 
The Patent and Trademark Office, File No. 12/4 
 Consolidate Act. No. 107 o f 24 January 2012 
 
 
The Consolidate Secret Patents Act 
 
 
Publication of the Secret Patents Act, cf. Consolidate Act No. 732 of 27 November 1989 as amended 
by section 7 of Act No. 1370 of 28 December 2011.1) 
  
1.- (1) For inventions relating to war materiel 
or processes for the manufacture of war mat e-
riel secret patents may be granted in accord-
ance with the provisions below. 
(2) For the purposes of this Act the meaning of 
“war materiel” shall be defined by Royal d e-
cree. 
 
2. If required for the sake of the defence of the 
country, the Minister of Business and Growth 
may at the request of the Minister of Defence 
decide that a patent for an invention compr e-
hended by section 1 shall be granted as a secret 
patent, provided that the application for a p a-
tent for the said invention has been filed by a 
person or an enterprise residing in this country 
or by a Danish institution. 
 
2. a.-(1) For an invention comprehended by 
section 1 and owned by a person or an ente r-
prise residing in this country or by a Danish 
institution patent protection may not be sought 
on the basis of an international or a European 
application designating Denmark or being 
changed after the filing to designate Denmark, 
unless the application is filed through the P a-
tent Authority of this country. 
(2) If it is decided that a patent for the inven-
tion in this country may be granted only as a 
secret patent, the application may not be pr o-
ceeded with as an international or a European 
application without the authorization of the 
Minister of Defence. If such authorization is 
not given, the applicant may convert the appl i-
cation into an application for a patent in Den-
mark only; in that case the provisions of Part 
III and Part XA of the Patents Act concerning 
conversion shall apply mutatis mutandis. 
 
3.-(1) An invention comprehended by section 1 
and being the subject of an application for a 
patent filed by a person or an enterprise resid-
ing in this country or by a Danish institution may not be published, disclosed to others or 
made the subject of an application for a patent, 
for the registration of a utility model or for any 
other protection in a foreign state without the 
authorization of the Minister of Defence. Ne i-
ther may rights attached to such application be 
transferred to others by agreement or by legal 
proceedings without the consent of the Mini s-
ter of Defence. 
(2) The provisions of subsection (1) shall not 
apply
 after the expiry of 3 months from the 
filing of the application, unless it has been 
decided that a patent, if granted, shall be gran t-
ed as a secret patent or the applicant has been 
notified that the matter has not been finally 
decided upon and that, consequently, the pro-
visions of subsection (1) will be applicable for 
a further 3 months. 
 
4. The provisions of sections 2, 2a and 3 sha ll 
not apply to any invention which prior to the 
filing of an application for a patent has been 
published or made the subject of an application 
for an ordinary patent abroad. Nor shall they 
apply to any invention which has previously 
been made the subject of an application for a 
patent in Denmark if after the expiry of the 
time limits prescribed in section 3 such appl i-
cation has been proceeded with as an appl ica-
tion for an ordinary patent. 
 
5. Applications for patents which are to be 
granted as secret patents shall be examined and 
processed according to the provisions of the 
Patents Act, with the proviso that the prov i-
sions of sections 19 to 23 shall not app1y. If 
the application complies with the requirements, 
and if there is no basis for a refusal under se c-
tion 16, a secret patent shall be granted and a 
patent certificate be issued. 
 
6. If it has been decided to grant a patent as a 
secret patent, the advertisement of the grant  
 2/3 provided for in section 26 of the Patents Act 
and the entry in the Register referred to in se c-
tion 27 shall be effected with an indication of 
the words “secret patent” and without any in-
dication of the subject-matter of the patent and 
the names of the proprietor of the patent and 
his agent. Also any further advertisements 
concerning the patent shall be effected with an 
indication of the said words and without any 
indication of the information referred to. Until 
further notice printing and publication of the 
patent specification shall not be effected, and 
the files of the patent application and the patent 
shall not be open to inspection. The publication 
fee shall, however, be payable in the usual 
way. 
 
7. Inventions which are the subject of secret 
patents may not be sought protected by patents 
abroad or disclosed to third parties without the 
consent of the Minister of Defence. Neither 
may rights attached to such patents be tran s-
ferred to others by agreement or by legal pro-
ceedings without the consent of the Minister of 
Defence. 
 
8.-(1) Where a decision under section 2 is r e-
scinded prior to the grant of the patent, the 
application shall be proceeded with according 
to the normal provisions of the Patents Act. 
(2) Where a decision under section 2 is r e-
scinded after the grant of a secret patent, that 
patent shall be converted into an ordinary p a-
tent. In that case the Register of Patents shall 
be supplemented with the information to be 
entered in the Register according to the prov i-
sions applicable to ordinary patents just as a 
complete advertisement concerning the patent 
shall be effected. Furthermore, the patent spe c-
ification shall be published. 
(3) When a secret patent ceases to have effect, 
the corresponding patent specification shall be 
published without undue delay, unless the 
Minister of Defence decides that the invention 
shall continue to be kept secret. 
 
9. The provisions of section 8 (1) and (2) shall 
apply mutatis mutandis if it is proved to the 
Patent Authority that the invention has been disclosed in such a manner as to enable a per- 
son skilled in the art to carry it out. 
 
10. The Minister of Business and Growth may 
direct that applications for patents for inven-
tions comprehended by section 1 and filed in 
this country by institutions, persons or ente r-
prises residing in a foreign state shall be exa m-
ined and processed according to the provisions 
of this Act and that the patents, if granted, shall 
be granted as secret patents. 
 
11.-(1)2) Any violation of the provisions of 
sections 2a, 3 and 7 shall be punished by fines 
or by imprisonment of not more than 1 year, 
provided that a severer punishment is not pro-
vided for by other legislation. 
(2) The same punishment shall be imposed 
upon any person who discloses an invention to 
third parties after the Minister of Defence has 
decided under section 8 (3) that it shall contin-
ue to be kept secret. 
 (3) In legal proceedings concerning the inven-
tions provided for in this Act the court may 
decide that the case shall be heard in camera. 
 
12. After negotiation with the Minister of D e-
fence the Minister of Business and Growth 
may lay down the provisions necessary for the 
implementation of this Act, including prov i-
sions governing the right of the Ministry of 
Business and Growth and the Ministry of D e-
fence to make themselves acquainted with the 
patent applications files with the Patent and 
Trademark office.    
 
      ______________________________ 
 
Act. No. 1370 of 28 December 2011 contains 
the following provision as to entry into force:  
 
                         Section 9 
 
This Act shall enter into force on 1 February 
2012. 
 
 
 
 
The Ministry of Business and Growth, 24 January 2012 
 
  OLE SOHN    
     /Jesper Kongstad   
 3/3   
                                                      
1) This Consolidate Act contains comments on provisions as to entry into force and transitional provisions ad opt-
ed during the sessional year 2011/2012 of the Danish Parliament (the Folketing). Provisions as to entry into force 
and transitional provisions for previously adopted amendments to the Secret Patents Act are laid down in Co n-
solidate Act No. 732 of 27 November 1989. The amendment indicated below in consequence of Act No. 1370 of 
28 December 2011to Amend the Patents Act and various other Acts shall not apply to the Faroe Islands and 
Greenland, but it may by Royal Ordinance enter into force for these islands with such deviations as the circu m-
stances of the Faroe Islands and Greenland may require. 
2) Section 11(1) in the wording of this Act entered into force on 1 February 2012, cf. Act No. 1370 of 28 Dece m-
ber 2011.