Invention Secrecy Act

The Invention Secrecy Act of 1951 (Pub. L.82–256, 66 Stat.3, enacted February 1, 1952, codified at 35 U.S.C.ch. 17) is a United States federal law that authorizes the government to suppress disclosure of certain inventions for reasons of national security. It first became law as an executive order in 1947, promulgated by the administration of President Harry S. Truman. Full congressional enactment followed in 1951. The of the Cold War drove its creation and it passed the U.S. Congress relatively quickly once introduced.

The statute empowers selected federal agencies to decide whether a patent application poses a risk and to compel its classification under secrecy orders. In practice, secrecy orders have been imposed not only on inventions affecting military defense but also on those alleged to threaten economic stability, with critics noting that many such restrictions rest on speculative or unproven harms. The law applies broadly to all inventions in the United States for which a patent is filed or granted (35 U.S.C.§ 181). Every patent application is reviewed, and thousands of inventions are manually screened each year. Any federal agency with "classifying powers" can order a restriction under the Act.

Critics, including attorneys and academics, describe the system as lacking oversight and limiting avenues of appeal. Commentators have likened secrecy orders to uncompensated takings under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and legal scholars argue that the regime is "inherently unfair" because inventors are automatically denied a quarter of their patent's assessed value while being unable to prove harm. Historians note that officials manage secrecy orders to avoid judicial precedents on the Act's constitutionality.

Other critics contend that secrecy orders chill research, stall economic development, and entrench the military–industrial complex by sidelining independent inventors and dual-use technologies. The statutory rationale in 35 U.S.C. § 181 is that secrecy orders are needed when disclosure "might be detrimental to the national security." Most scholarly commentary has been critical of the regime, though one law review article has argued limited secrecy may be justified in biotechnology patents.