Florida Patent Holder Urges Patent Office to Lift Secrecy Ban on Their New Inventions
Secrecy News reports that a Florida company names Space Propulstion Systems, Inc. announced recently that it had peitioned the U.S. Government to lift a secrecy ban that has been imposed on two of its rocket propellant concepts.
The government may restrict the publication and dissemination of information regarding new inventions under the Invention Secrecy Act of 1951, if their disclosure could be "detrimental to the national security."
There were 4942 invention secrecy orders in effect at the end of fiscal year 2006, according to statistics obtained by Secrecy News from the United States Patent & Trademark Office. In fiscal year 2006, there werre 108 new orders imposed, while 81 existing orders were rescinded.
Usually, it is difficult if not impossible to determine which patents and patent applications were subject to invention secrecy orders which have been rescinded, but in this particular case, the applicant has identified itself.