MPEP § 115 — MPEP § 115
Current through: 2022-07-01

115-Review of Applications for National Security and Property Rights Issues 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 Skip over navigation 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 search for patents | search for trademarks 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Search 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 PATENTS 
 
 Patent Search 

 
 Patent Process 

 
 Patent Classification 

 
 Patent Forms 

 
 Statistics 

 
 Electronic Business Center 

 
 Patent Laws, Regulations, Policies & Procedures 

 
 Resources and Guidance 

 
 Office of Data Management 

 
 Announcements 

 
 Initiatives & Events 

 
 International Protection 

 
 Employee Locator 

 
 Contact Patents 

 

 

 
 TRADEMARKS 
 
 Trademark Search 

 
 Trademarks Process 

 
 News & Notices 

 
 Manuals, Guides, Official Gazette 

 
 Laws & Regulations 

 
 Online Filing 

 
 Contact Trademarks 

 

 

 
 IP LAW & POLICY 
 
 Rulemaking 

 
 IP Policy and Enforcement 

 
 Protecting IP Overseas 

 
 Training and Education 

 
 Training Programs & Conferences 

 
 Office of Governmental Affairs 

 
 Office of Chief Economist 

 
 Boards and Counsel 

 

 

 
 PRODUCTS & SERVICES 
 
 Electronic Data Products 

 
 XML Resources 

 
 XML Resources - Retrospective 

 
 USPTO Contact Center Order Form 

 
 Services 

 
 Locate Libraries 

 
 Training/Events 

 
 Online Services Hub 

 

 

 
 INVENTORS 
 
 Patents for Inventors 

 
 Trademarks for Inventors 

 
 Inventors Assistance 

 
 Education and Information 

 
 Scam Prevention 

 
 Pro Se and Pro Bono 

 
 Current Events 

 
 State Resources 

 
 InventorsEye Newsletter 

 

 

 
 NEWS & NOTICES 
 
 Subscription Center 

 
 Press Releases 

 
 Testimony and Speeches 

 
 Director's Forum 

 
 Systems Status 

 
 Emergency Notices 

 
 USPTO Videos 

 
 Official Gazette 

 
 Federal Register Notices 

 
 Event Calendar 

 

 

 
 FAQs 
 
 Patents FAQs 

 
 Trademarks FAQs 

 
 Assignments 

 
 Security 

 
 Musicians and Artists 

 
 Browser Plugins 

 
 Other Web Resources 

 

 

 
 ABOUT US 
 
 USPTO Leadership 

 
 USPTO Organization 

 
 USPTO Offices 

 
 Careers 

 
 Budget, Performance, and Planning 

 
 Statistics 

 
 Vendor Information 

 
 Public Advisory Committees 

 
 National Medal of Technology and Innovation 

 
 IP in Motion 

 
 Contact Us 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 Home Page 

 
 Patents 

 
 Patent Laws, Regulations, Policies & Procedures 

 
 Manual of Patent Examining Procedure 

 Chapter 0100 

 Section 115 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 115 Review of Applications for National Security and Property Rights
 Issues [R-07.2022]
 

 
 35 U.S.C. 181 
 Secrecy of certain inventions and withholding of patent. 

 Whenever publication or disclosure by the publication of an
 application or by the grant of a patent on an invention in which the Government has a
 property interest might, in the opinion of the head of the interested Government agency,
 be detrimental to the national security, the Commissioner of Patents upon being so
 notified shall order that the invention be kept secret and shall withhold the
 publication of an application or the grant of a patent therefor under the conditions set
 forth hereinafter.
 

 *****

 

 

 All provisional applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(b) , nonprovisional
 applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) , international applications filed under the PCT,
 and international design applications filed under the Hague Agreement, in the U.S. Patent
 and Trademark Office (USPTO) are reviewed for the purposes of issuance of a foreign filing
 license pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 184 . See also 37 CFR 5.1(b) . These applications are
 screened upon receipt in the USPTO for subject matter that, if disclosed, might impact the
 national security. Such applications are referred to the appropriate agencies for
 consideration of restrictions on disclosure of the subject matter as provided for in
 35 U.S.C.
 181 . 
 

 If a defense agency concludes that disclosure of the invention would be
 detrimental to the national security, a secrecy order is recommended to the Commissioner
 for Patents. The Commissioner then issues a Secrecy Order and withholds the publication of
 the application or the grant of a patent for such period as the national interest requires. 
 

 For those applications in which the Government has a property interest
 (including applications indicating national security classified subject matter),
 responsibility for notifying the Commissioner for Patents of the need for a Secrecy Order
 resides with the agency having that interest. Applications that are national security
 classified (see 37
 CFR 1.9(i) ) may be so indicated by use of authorized national
 security markings (e.g., “Confidential,” “Secret,” or “Top Secret”). National security
 classified documents filed in the USPTO must be either hand-carried to Licensing and Review
 or mailed to the Office in compliance with 37 CFR 5.1(a) and Executive Order 13526
 of December 29, 2009. However, the Office will accept such applications filed with the
 USPTO via the Department of Defense Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET) and
 consider them as filed via the USPTO patent electronic filing system for purposes of
 37 CFR
 1.16(t) and 37 CFR 1.445(a)(ii) . As set forth in
 37 CFR
 5.1(d) , the applicant in a national security classified patent
 application must obtain a secrecy order from the appropriate defense agency or provide
 authority to cancel the markings. A list of contacts at the appropriate defense agency can
 be obtained by contacting Licensing and Review.
 

 A second purpose for the screening of all applications, with an exception
 for provisional applications, is to identify inventions in which DOE or NASA might have
 property rights. See 42 U.S.C. 2182, 51 U.S.C. 20135, and MPEP § 150 .
 

 A third function of the screening procedure is to process foreign filing
 license petitions under 37 CFR 5.12(a) . See MPEP § 140 .
 

 Provisional applications filed in a foreign language are also screened under
 these provisions. The Office will make an attempt to determine the subject matter of the
 application, but the applicant may be required to provide at least an English language
 abstract of the information for screening purposes. It is strongly recommended that if the
 applicant is in possession of an English language description of the technology, it should
 be filed with the provisional application to prevent screening delays.
 

 All applications are required to be cleared from secrecy review before
 forwarding to issue. If the L&R code on the general information display does not equal
 1, then in an IFW application, a message should be sent to LREVINCOMINGDOCS. 
 

 The Patent Data Portal (PDP) System's general information display discloses
 the current Licensing and Review status. The indicator “L&R code” displays the current
 status of the application while the indicators “Third Level Review” and “Secrecy Order”
 display the historical status of the application. An L&R code of “3” or a “Third Level
 Review” of “Yes” indicates that application is/has been considered for security
 screening.
 

 A Secrecy Code of “4” indicates that application is currently under Secrecy
 Order. In this case, the application has been converted to a paper application file and
 there should be no images maintained in the Image File Wrapper system (IFW).
 

 While the initial screening is performed only by designated personnel, all
 examiners have a responsibility to be alert for obviously sensitive subject matter either
 in the original disclosure or subsequently introduced, for example, by amendment. If the
 examiner is aware of subject matter which should be subject to screening by appropriate
 office personnel, this should be brought to the attention of Licensing and Review.
 

 [top] 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 101-General 

 102-Information as to Status of an Application 

 103-Right of Public To Inspect Patent Files and Some Application Files 

 104-Power to Inspect Application 

 105-Suspended or Excluded Practitioner Cannot Inspect 

 106-Control of Inspection by Assignee 
 106.01-Rights of Assignee of Part Interest 

 
 

 107‑109-[Reserved] 

 110-Confidential Nature of International Applications 

 111‑114-[Reserved] 

 115-Review of Applications for National Security and Property Rights Issues 

 116‑119-[Reserved] 

 120-Secrecy Orders 

 121-Handling of Applications under Secrecy Order and/or Bearing National Security Markings 

 122‑129-[Reserved] 

 130-Examination of Secrecy Order Cases 

 131‑139-[Reserved] 

 140-Foreign Filing Licenses 

 141‑149-[Reserved] 

 150-Statements to DOE and NASA 

 151-Content of the Statements 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
 Accessibility 

 Privacy Policy 

 Terms of Use 

 Security 

 Emergencies/Security Alerts 

 Information Quality Guidelines 

 
 

 
 
 Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act 

 Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation (NoFEAR) Act 

 Budget & Performance 

 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

 
 

 
 
 Department of Commerce NoFEAR Act Report 

 Regulations.gov 

 STOP!Fakes.gov 

 Department of Commerce 

 USA.gov 

 
 

 
 
 Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!) 

 Careers 

 Site Index 

 Contact Us 

 Submit Feedback 

 
 

 
 This page is owned by Patents.

 Last Modified: 
 
 03/09/2026 20:49:25