1. General

The following procedures are in implementation of Article III of the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Facilitate Interchange of Patent Rights and Technical Information for Defense Purposes, dated April 29, 1955. The purpose of these procedures is to facilitate the filing of patent applications involving classified subject matter of defense interest, by inventors of one country in the other country, and to guarantee adequate security in such other country for the inventions disclosed by such applications. These procedures are based upon the following understandings with respect to basic security requirements:

(a) Each Government has authority within its jurisdiction to impose secrecy on an invention of defense interest which it considers to involve classified subject matter.

(b) The authority of each Government, when acting as the originating Government, to impose, modify or remove secrecy orders shall be exercised only at the request, or with the concurrence, of national defense officials of that Governments or pursuant to criteria established by national defense agencies, of that Government.

(c) Secrecy orders shall apply to the subject matter of the inventions concerned, and prohibit unauthorized disclosure of the same by all persons having access thereto.

(d) Adequate physical security arrangements shall be provided in all Government departments, including Patent Offices, handling inventions of defence interest and all persons in these departments and offices required to handle such inventions shall have been security cleared.

(e) Each Government shall take all possible steps to prevent unauthorized foreign filing of patent applications which may involve classified subject matter of defense interest.

(f) Permission for foreign filing of a patent application involving classified subject matter of defense interest shall remain discretionary with each Government.

(g) The recipient Government shall assign to the invention involved a classification corresponding to that given in the country of origin and shall take effective measures to provide security protection appropriate to such classification.

(h) Where patent applications covered by a secrecy order are handled by patent agents or attorneys in private practice, arrangements shall be made for the security clearance of these agents or attorneys and such of their employees who may be involved prior to their handling such applications or information relating thereto, as well as for adequate physical security measures in their offices.

(i) When secrecy has been imposed on an invention in one country and the inventor has been given permission to apply for a patent in the other country, all communications regarding the classified aspects of the invention shall pass through diplomatic or other secure channels.

2. Applications Originating in the United States

The following provisions shall apply when, for defense purposes, a United States patent application has been placed in secrecy under the provisions of Title 35, United States Code, Section 181, and the applicant wishes to file a corresponding application in the Netherlands.

(a) The applicant shall petition the United States Commissioner of Patents for modification of the secrecy order to permit filing in the Netherlands. This petition will be prepared in conformance with paragraph 5.5 of Part 5, Title 37, Code of Federal Regulations, the provisions of which are incorporated herein by reference.

(b) Permission to file a classified patent application in the Netherlands is conditional upon the applicant agreeing to:

(1) Make the invention involved and such information relating thereto as may be necessary for its proper evaluation for defense purposes available to the Netherlands Government for purposes of defense under the terms and conditions of the Agreement of April 29, 1955.

(2) Assign in trust the rights resulting from the application to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, since under present Netherlands law a secret patent can be issued only to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

(3) Waive any right to compensation for damage which might arise under the laws of the Netherlands by virtue of the mere imposition of secrecy on his invention in the Netherlands, but reserving any right of action for compensation provided by the laws of the Netherlands for use by the Netherlands Government of the invention disclosed by the application or for unauthorized disclosure of the invention in the Netherlands.

(c) Upon obtaining permission to file in the Netherlands, the applicant shall forward the documents for the Netherlands application to the defense agency which initiated the secrecy order.

(d) The defense agency shall transmit, through diplomatic channels, the documents received from the applicant, simultaneously, as follows:

(1) One copy to the Military Attache at the Embassy of the Netherlands in the United States for use by the Netherlands Government for defense purposes; and

(2) Two copies to the appropriate section of the American Embassy in the Netherlands. The letter transmitting the documents to the American Embassy in the Netherlands shall indicate the security classification given to the application in the United States; state that the invention involved and such information relating thereto as was necessary for its proper evaluation for defense purposes has been made available to the Netherlands Government for purposes of defense under the terms and conditions of the Agreement of April 29, 1955; and state that the applicant has authorization to file a corresponding application in the Netherlands under the provisions of Title 35, United States Code, Section 184. It shall also include instructions for the Embassy to inquire of appropriate Netherlands Ministry of Defense officials as to whether the Netherlands attorney or agent designated by the applicant is security cleared in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph 1 (h), supra.

(e) If the designated attorney or agent is not security cleared, the Netherlands Minister of Defense shall so inform the appropriate section of the American Embassy, which shall forward such information to the United States defense agency which initiated the secrecy order. It shall then be necessary for the designated attorney or agent to become security cleared, if time permits, or for the patent applicant to select another attorney or agent and submit his name through the United States defense agency to the American Embassy in the Netherlands.

(f) When a security cleared attorney or agent has been designated, the Embassy shall transmit the documents to him by personal delivery or in any other manner consistent with Netherlands security regulations.

(g) The Netherlands attorney or agent shall then file the application in the Netherlands Patent Office (Octrooiraad).

(h) The Government of the Netherlands shall then place the application in secrecy.

(i) The applicant shall submit as soon as possible to the initiating agency the serial number and filing date of the foreign application.

3. Applications Originating in the Netherlands

The following provisions shall apply when, for defense purposes, a Netherlands patent application involving classified subject matter of defense interest has been placed in secrecy under the provisions of Netherlands law, and the applicant wishes to file a corresponding application in the United States:

(a) The applicant shall send a written request to the Netherlands Minister of Defense asking permission to file such an application in the United States.

(b) Permission to file a classified patent application in the United States shall be conditional upon the applicant agreeing to: