United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Statistics on Patent Secrecy Orders 2024

Summary

This document contains a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) response from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) providing statistical activity reports on patent secrecy orders for Fiscal Years 2017 through 2023. The data details the number of new secrecy orders, rescissions, active orders at period end, sponsoring agencies (including the Army, Navy, Air Force, DOE, NSA, DTSA, and NASA/DARPA), and classifications by secrecy order type.

Page 1 - Government Attic Cover Sheet

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Description of document: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Statistics on Patent Secrecy Orders 2024

Requested date: 01-May-2024

Release date: 21-June-2024

Posted date: 08-December-2025

Source of document: FOIA Request USPTO FOIA Officer United States Patent and Trademark Office PO Box 1450 Alexandria, VA 22313-1450 Email: [email protected] FOIA.gov

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Page 2 - USPTO FOIA Response Letter

United States Patent and Trademark Office Office of the General Counsel

Friday, June 21, 2024

VIA EMAIL

Re: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request No. F-24-00232

This is in response to your Wednesday, May 01, 2024 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking:

A copy of the ten most recent USPTO Secrecy Order Activity Reports.

The USPTO conducted a search and identified information that is responsive to your request. A copy of this material is enclosed.

You may contact the FOIA Public Liaison at 571-272-9585 for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001, e-mail at [email protected]; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769.

Your request is considered complete with full disclosure. However, you have the right to appeal this initial decision to the Deputy General Counsel, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, or you may submit an appeal electronically to [email protected]. An appeal must be received within 90 calendar days from the date of this letter. The appeal must be in writing. You must include a copy of your original request, this letter, and a statement of the reasons why the information should be made available and why this initial denial is in error. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the letter and the envelope must be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Appeal.”

The processing fee was less than $20.00, and is hereby waived.

Sincerely,

Karon E. Seldon USPTO FOIA Officer Office of General Law

Page 3 - Secrecy Order Activity Report (FY17 - FY22)

ACTIVITY | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 New Secrecy Orders | 132 | 85 | 88 | 45 | 61 | 87 SO Rescinds processed | 28 | 77 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6 Total SO’s in effect, end of period | 5784 | 5792 | 5878 | 5915 | 5976 | 6057

Sponsoring Agencies for new SO’s Foreign Origin | 17 (12.9%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) ARMY | 19 (14.4%) | 14 (16.5%) | 21 (23.9%) | 2 (4.4%) | 9 (14.8%) | 5 (5.7%) NAVY | 49 (37.1%) | 40 (47.1%) | 55 (62.5%) | 33 (73.3%) | 41 (67.2%) | 70 (80.5%) AF | 33 (25.0%) | 31 (36.5%) | 10 (11.4%) | 4 (8.9%) | 7 (11.5%) | 6 (6.9%) DOE | 7 (5.3%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (1.1%) | 6 (13.3%) | 4 (6.6%) | 5 (5.7%) NSA | 2 (1.5%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) DTSA | 2 (1.5%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (1.1%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (1.1%) NASA, DARPA | 3 (2.3%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%)

New DOD SO’s imposed by Type DOD Type 1 (export control) | 47 (35.6%) | 27 (31.8%) | 36 (40.9%) | 34 (75.6%) | 36 (59.0%) | 56 (64.4%) DOD Type 2 (classified/classifiable) | 23 (17.4%) | 19 (22.4%) | 3 (3.4%) | 1 (2.2%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) DOD Type 2 (foreign PSA) | 17 (12.9%) | 0 (0.0%) | 10 (11.4%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) DOD Type 3 | 38 (28.8%) | 39 (45.9%) | 38 (43.2%) | 4 (8.9%) | 21 (34.4%) | 26 (29.9%) New Non-DOD SO’s imposed (DOE, NASA) | 7 (5.3%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (1.1%) | 6 (13.3%) | 4 (6.6%) | 5 (5.7%)

John Doe SO’s | 39 | 43 | 48 | 21 | 29 | 1

Page 4 - Secrecy Order Activity Report (FY23)

ACTIVITY | FY23 New Secrecy Orders | 125 SO Rescinds processed | 27 Total SO’s in effect, end of period | 6155

Sponsoring Agencies for new SO’s Foreign Origin | 0 (0.0%) ARMY | 17 (13.6%) NAVY | 55 (44.0%) AF | 43 (34.4%) DOE | 7 (5.6%) NSA | 0 (0.0%) DTSA | 2 (1.6%) NASA, DARPA | 1 (0.8%)

John Doe SO’s | 25