May 24 2018
Over 5,000 inventions stifled thanks to government secrecy orders.
Robert Gold tried to do what numerous Americans have dreamed of over ten years ago; he wanted to patent an idea he had. He made a breakthrough in wireless communications helping people to talk to one another with far greater security and less interference. His discovery disappeared and was never patented.
The Department of Defense Halted His Invention
The Department of Defense halted his invention as it was seen by them to be a threat to national security if it fell into the wrong hands. They put a secrecy order on the patent application of Gold, and this stopped his idea from going ahead in 2002. It also stopped him from talking about the technology with anyone. His attorney managed to get a lifting order five years later, but by this time, it was all too late.
Gold said that the window of opportunity had passed by during the years his idea was banned, so he was not successful at commercializing the idea.
Gold did say that at the time he did not try to oppose the government’s position as public knowledge about communications techniques that were covert might undermine the military. His research was sponsored by the federal government, and they retained the right to put the technology to use. At the same time, it promoted an incentive as it granted Gold shared patent rights. This meant he was able to file with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to ask to commercialize the idea.
America is supposed to be a nation of ideas; however, in 1951 Congress decided that some of the ideas should remain secret. Today each year Silicon Valley churns out many thousands of patents, and there are some who ask if the government should have broader powers.
Freedom of Information Act Reveals More about Secrecy Orders
Today what people do know about secrecy orders is due to the results of requests that are filed by groups, including the Federation of American Scientists, to the Freedom of Information Act. Documents have revealed the overall number of secrecy orders have been on the increase steadily over the recent years. They came to over five, 300 in 2012 and some of them have been in effect for many decades.
Each year many tens of thousands of applications for patents are examined manually under the Invention Secrecy Act. They are then referred to the Pentagon, Department of Justice, National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security for a final decision.
Patent Owners Often Stuck in Limbo for Years
Very often owners of patents are stuck in a legal limbo with the government for years as they tell people they have a valid invention but they cannot do anything with it for decades said technology law professor Mark Lemley.
Secrecy orders are said to be a rare thing but if a person violates one it can result in serving a prison sentence.
Man Sought Damages against Government for His Delayed Patent
James Constant, a man from California, filed a radar technology patent in 1969 for technology that could track packages, shipping containers, and components that were traveling on an assembly line. He was given a secrecy order, and it was not lifted until 1971. Constant looked at claiming damages from the government as he said he had not been able to capitalize on his idea. It was only in 1982 that the case reached trial and a court ruled against him saying that his lack of experience in business had impeded his chances of success.
Constant stated that the secrecy order had caused him substantial financial loss and it had set him back for many years. He went on to say that once the secrecy order had been put on his patent, he was left with only viable technology.
The legal headaches came about in all cases only once the inventor had spent a huge amount of time and resources in the development of their idea.
Could Modern Day Inventions Be Put Under Lock and Key
Many people understand why defense officials could need to shield cryptographic technology that might stop the government from being able to eavesdrop on conversations of their enemies. However, encryption in modern times also protects consumers against identity thieves, while allowing activists of human rights that live under regimes that are abusive to be able to communicate far more freely.
With the threat of economic espionage from such as China, the lawmakers are now asking if inventions that are essential to the well-being of the nation’s economy should perhaps be under lock and key.
Spy Aesthetic Espionage Kgb
The Patent and Trademark Office was directed under U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Virginia) to think about whether secrecy orders might be extended for inventions not tied to the defense of the nation but which might harm the economy if they were stolen. Officials in 2012 asked the public what they thought, and secrecy and intellectual property experts were skeptics. Robert Stroll was the nation’s patent commissioner up to 2011 and he asked who would determine if something was economically viable. He pointed out that it was usually the market that makes the determination.
Stroll continued by saying that a move such as this might damage the economy more than help it and perhaps the nation would be better filing patent applications in foreign countries along with taking anyone who violated before the World Trade Organization if they did not honor the intellectual property agreement that was in place.
Inventors Can Seek Compensation If Defense Agencies Use Their Idea
An inventor can seek compensation should the defense agency use their idea or if the applicant can prove damages had been suffered, as they were unable to take their idea to the marketplace. However, this process is not easy. There has to be firm evidence that the government took the idea of the inventor and this is something that might be thought of as being a secret.
A secrecy order was handled by Steven Hoffberg, an intellectual property attorney. That order had been enough to threaten the idea for a technology that his client had that was able to detect objects. This included any stealth aircraft. The client was James Greer, and he had to live with a secrecy order in place for eight years following his filing in 2000. He said that it would have proven a challenge to look into whether the idea could be exported to strategic allies of the USA to use as anti-stealth technology. Also to be able to identify the possibilities outside of the defense. He was talking about possibilities that included object tracking for what was called smarter highways in the future along with next-generation communications.
Hoffberg came up with the argument that it had been unjustified for the order to have been put into place for such a long period and that by 2004 the application would not have given any adversaries a strategic advance. It was said that the government had kept Greer from being able to fulfill the true purpose of the patent, making an investment to bring the product to market. Hoffberg concluded that if the government was not going to purchase the product and they would not let Greer sell it commercially, it had no value.
The Government Should Stop Publishing Applications until Patent Is Issued
Many people want the government to stop publishing applications until the formal patent has been granted. Then if the application is denied, it should be destroyed, and this leaves the inventor free to try again or to guard it and keep it as a trade secret and enjoy the rewards before it is stolen.
In regards to the secrecy orders, there are many technologies being backed by defense agencies to start with. Therefore, it is not a big surprise if an order exists, for example, the technical components of a nuclear weapons system. Many “John Doe” secrecy orders have been issued year after year, these have an effect on both private individuals, and businesses and they never get any payoff for their invention, despite the fact that the government does not have any interest in the technology. There were around 100 of these patents declined in 1998 said the Federation of American Scientists.
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Originally Posted by Republicanguy
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