The relevance of legal protection of secret inventions in Ukraine during the war

Abstract

The article is devoted to the legal framework of the secret inventions, which are the inventions made secret by the order of the State secret expert. The question is regarded in connection to the war in Ukraine. The two regimes, one – the patent protection regime, the other – the state secret regime have a secret invention in the sphere of their regulation. The procedure of the expanding the secret order for the invention is unique and mentioned in the Patent and Utility Model Act, although the applicant for the secrecy could be both – the inventor or applicant and the State Secret Agent. It is disagreed in the article that all the secret inventions are used according to a state monopoly. There are inventions, that are not used by the state itself, nevertheless, the state is interested in keeping it secret without using but not allowing anyone else to use it regarding the national interest. The examples are shown in the sphere of medicine. Analysing the legal position of the patent holder of the secret invention in compare with the legal position of the patent holder of the ordinary patent, it is stated that not only the economic rights are limited, but also a personal rights that derive from the patent when we talk about secret inventions. The inventor can not mention its name publicly when talking about secret inventions, that can have an impact on his professional reputation or position as an employee. The examples are shown that the inventors sometimes tend to use a trade secret regime to protect their inventions. There is a significant decrease in patent applications for the invention due to the war in Ukraine, although the number of the patents that will be kept secret now and in post war period is expected to be bigger.