Section 401.13 - Confidentiality of contractor submissionsPursuant to 35 U.S.C. 202(c)(5) and 205 , the following procedures shall govern confidentiality of documents submitted under paragraph (c) of the standard clause found at § 401.14 :
(a) Agencies shall not disclose to third parties pursuant to requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) any information disclosing a subject invention during the time which an initial patent application may be filed under paragraph (c) of the standard clause found at § 401.14 or such other clause in the funding agreement. This prohibition does not apply to information that has previously been published by the inventor, contractor, or otherwise.(b) Agencies shall not disclose or release, pursuant to requests under the Freedom of Information Act or otherwise, copies of any document which is part of an application for patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or any foreign patent office filed by the contractor (or its assignees, licensees, or employees) on a subject invention to which the contractor has elected to retain title. This prohibition does not extend to disclosure to other government agencies or contractors of government agencies under an obligation to maintain such information in confidence. This prohibition does not apply to documents published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or any foreign patent office.(c) When implementing policies that encourage public dissemination of the results of work supported by the agency through government publications or other publications of technical reports, agencies shall not include copies of documents submitted by contractors pursuant to § 401.14(c) when a contractor notifies the agency that a particular report or other submission contains a disclosure of a subject invention to which it has elected title or may elect title, or such publication could create a statutory bar to obtaining patent protection.88 FR 17737, Mar. 24, 2023 83 FR 15961, 5/14/2018; 88 FR 17737, 4/24/2023