USPTO Seeks Comments on Patent Secrecy and Export License Information Collection Through May 22

Content

ACTION:

Notice of information collection; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit the following information collection request to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after
the date of publication of this notice. The USPTO invites comments on the information collection renewal of 0651-0034, which
helps the USPTO assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden to the public.
Public comments were previously requested via the
Federal Register
on November 19, 2025 during a 60-day comment period (90 FR 52041). This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public
comments.

DATES:

To ensure consideration, you must submit comments regarding this information collection on or before May 22, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for this information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication
of this notice on the following website, http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using
the search function and entering either the title of the information collection or the OMB Control Number, 0651-0034. Do not
submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

• This information collection request may be viewed at http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of Commerce, USPTO information collections currently under review by OMB.

• Email: InformationCollection@uspto.gov. Include “0651-0034 information request” in the subject line of the message.

• Mail: Justin Isaac, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria,
VA 22313-1450.

• Telephone: Jeffrey R. West, Senior Legal Advisor, 571-272-2226.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Secrecy and License to Export.

OMB Control Number: 0651-0034.

Abstract: In the interest of national security, patent laws and regulations place certain limitations on the disclosure of information
contained in patents and patent applications and on the filing of applications for patents in foreign countries.

This information collection includes the information needed by the USPTO to review the various types of petitions regarding
secrecy orders and foreign filing licenses. This collection of information is required by 35 U.S.C.

181-186 and is administered by the USPTO through 37 CFR 5.1-5.5, 5.11-5.15, 5.18-5.20, and 5.25.

Secrecy Orders

Whenever the publication or disclosure of an invention by the publication of an application or by the granting of a patent
is, in the opinion of the head of an interested Government agency, determined to be detrimental to national security, the
USPTO Commissioner for Patents must issue a secrecy order and withhold the publication of a patent application and the grant
of a patent for such period as the national interest requires. A patent will not be issued on the application, nor will the
application be published, as long as the secrecy order is in force. If a secrecy order is applied to an international application,
the application will not be forwarded to the International Bureau as long as the secrecy order is in effect.

The Commissioner for Patents can issue three types of secrecy orders, each of a different scope. The first type, Secrecy Order
and Permit for Foreign Filing in Certain Countries, is intended to permit the widest utilization of the technical data in
the patent application while still controlling any publication or disclosure that would result in an unlawful exportation.
The second type, the Secrecy Order and Permit for Disclosing Classified Information, is to treat classified technical data
presented in a patent application in the same manner as any other classified material. The third type of secrecy order, the
General Secrecy Order, is used where the other types of orders do not apply, including orders issued by direction of agencies
other than the Department of Defense.

Under the provision of 35 U.S.C. 181, a secrecy order remains in effect for a period of one year from its date of issuance.
A secrecy order may be renewed for additional periods of not more than one year upon notice by a government agency that the
national interest continues to so require it. The applicant is notified of the renewal.

When the USPTO places a secrecy order on a patent application, the regulations authorize the applicant to petition the USPTO
for permits to allow disclosure, modification, or rescission of the secrecy order, or to obtain a general or group permit.
In each of these circumstances, the petition is forwarded to the appropriate defense agency for decision. Also, the Commissioner
for Patents may rescind any order upon notification by the heads of the departments and the chief officers of the agencies
who caused the order to be issued that the disclosure of the invention is no longer deemed detrimental to national security.

Unless expressly ordered otherwise, action on the application and prosecution by the applicant will proceed during the time
the application is under secrecy order to a specific point as indicated under 37 CFR 5.3. See the Manual of Patent Examining
Procedure (MPEP) Section 130 (9th ed., rev. 01.2024, November 2024). For example, prosecution of a national application under
a secrecy order may proceed only to the point where it is found to be in condition for allowance. See 37 CFR 5.3(c). Prosecution
of international applications under a secrecy order, on the other hand, will proceed only to the point before record and search
copies would be transmitted to the international authorities or the applicant. See 37 CFR 5.3(d). National applications under
secrecy order that come to a final rejection must be appealed or otherwise prosecuted to avoid abandonment. Appeals in such
cases must be completed by the applicant, but unless specifically indicated by the Commissioner of Patents, will not be set
for hearing until the secrecy order is removed.

Foreign Filing License

This information collection also covers information gathered with respect to foreign filing licenses. The filing of a patent
application is considered a request for a foreign filing license. However, in some instances an applicant may need a license
for filing patent applications in foreign countries prior to a filing in the USPTO or sooner than the anticipated licensing
of a pending patent application.

For such circumstances, this information collection covers petitions for a foreign filing license either with or without a
corresponding United States application. In addition, this information collection covers petitions to change the scope of
a license and petitions for a retroactive license for instances when a patent application is filed through error in a foreign
country without the appropriate filing license.

Forms: None.

Type of Review: Extension and revision of a currently approved information collection.

Affected Public: Private sector.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.

Frequency: On occasion.

Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 7,318 respondents.

Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 7,318 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: The USPTO estimates that the responses in this information collection will take the public approximately 30 minutes (0.50
hours) to 4 hours to complete. This includes the time to gather the necessary information, create the document, and submit
the completed item to the USPTO.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden Hours: 4,207 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Non-hourly Cost Burden: $1,623,052.

Since the publication of the 60-day notice, the USPTO has updated the postage costs rates associated with this information
collection. This results in an increase of $76 in non-hourly burden, for a new estimated total annual respondent cost burden
of $1,623,052.

Justin Isaac, Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office. [FR Doc. 2026-07831 Filed 4-21-26; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-16-P

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