FAR 27.203—Security requirements for patent applications containing classified subject matter.

General.

FAR 27.203-1 explains how the government handles patent applications that may contain classified subject matter and how it protects both national security and patent rights. It covers the risk of unauthorized disclosure of classified information in patent filings or issued patents, the contracting officer’s duty to determine the proper security classification of a patent application received under FAR 52.227-10, the requirement to tell the contractor how to transmit a classified application to the U.S. Patent Office through approved procedures, the special 30-day notification effort for applications classified Secret or higher, the duty to send contractor-provided information to legal counsel when the contractor reports filing-related information, and the need to act promptly on requests for approval to file patents in foreign countries. In practice, this section is about coordination: the contracting officer, legal counsel, and the contractor must move quickly and carefully so classified information is protected while valuable patent rights are not lost through delay. It is a security-and-timing rule set, not a substantive patentability rule, and it exists to prevent accidental disclosure, espionage-related violations, and avoidable loss of rights for either the Government or the contractor.

Contract clause.

FAR 27.203-2 tells contracting officers when they must include the patent-clause at FAR 52.227-10, Filing of Patent Applications-Classified Subject Matter. The section covers two related situations: first, all classified solicitations and contracts; and second, any solicitation or contract where the nature of the work could reasonably lead to a patent application that contains classified subject matter. Its purpose is to protect national security by ensuring contractors handle patent filings involving classified information in a controlled way and do not disclose classified subject matter through the patent process. In practice, this means the clause must be considered early in acquisition planning whenever the work involves classified information or sensitive technology that could later be the subject of a patent application. The rule is simple but important: if the work could produce a patent application with classified content, the Government must insert the clause so the contractor is on notice of the special filing restrictions and procedures.