USPTO Group 220 / Patent Security Category Review List (PSCRL)
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A secret government list can lock away your invention for decades, ban you from patenting it abroad, and leave you with little way to get paid.
Who they are
USPTO Group 220, a specialized U.S. Patent Office division that screens patent applications against a classified security list (the PSCRL).
What they do
It checks every incoming domestic patent application against a defense-agency-supplied list of sensitive categories and can slap secrecy orders on inventions.
How it works
It issues three order types (export control, classifiable IP, general secrecy), and in FY2025 alone imposed 18 'John Doe' orders on private inventors with no government funding — a constitutionally questionable prior restraint; Section 184 of the law bars those inventors from filing foreign patents while under review, compensation is nearly impossible to get because of the State Secrets Privilege and lack-of-standing rulings, and some inventions stay classified over 27 years, destroying their commercial value.
Why it matters
It's a documented way private inventions can be silently suppressed in the name of national security, often without meaningful compensation. The engine flags it as a persistent, constitutionally suspect restraint on private invention.
The engine's record — word for word
Report #87. Specialized USPTO division that screens all incoming domestic patent applications against the classified Patent Security Category Review List (PSCRL) provided by defense agencies. **Order types:** Type 1 (export control), Type 2 (classifiable IP), Type 3 (general secrecy orders). **John Doe orders** are imposed on private inventors operating entirely without government funding — 18 such orders imposed in FY2025 alone — constituting a persistent, constitutionally-suspect prior restraint on private invention. **Section 184** of the Act prevents inventors from filing for foreign patents if their invention is under U.S. secrecy review, effectively trapping the IP within the domestic defense perimeter. Compensation for suppressed inventors is notoriously difficult to obtain due to invocation of the State Secrets Privilege and lack-of-standing rulings. Some inventions remain classified for over 27 years, completely destroying their commercial viability.
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