35 U.S.C. · Part II · Chapter 17, Secrecy of certain inventions and filing applications in foreign country
35 U.S.C. 184: Filing of application in foreign country
In plain English
For an invention made in the United States, section 184 bars filing a patent, utility model or design application abroad until 6 months after filing in the US, unless the USPTO has granted a foreign filing license. The rule exists so that the government can review applications for national security issues and impose a secrecy order under section 181 before the technology leaves the country.
In most cases the license is granted automatically. Filing a US application is treated as a petition for a license (37 CFR 5.12(a)), and the filing receipt states whether a license has been granted. If you need to file abroad before filing in the US, or the receipt shows no license, a separate petition can be filed. A license can also be granted retroactively where an application was filed abroad through error and the invention is not within the scope of section 181.
The license covers later amendments and supplements that do not change the general nature of the invention (section 184(c)). Filing a PCT application with the USPTO as receiving office does not need a license, but under section 368(b) filing one at any other receiving office, such as the EPO, is a foreign filing, whether or not it designates the United States.
Annotation by Raj Sutariya, Co-founder, PatentAssist.ai. General information, not legal advice; the statute below governs.
Text of 35 U.S.C. 184
Current text, quoted from the official United States Code.
(a) Filing in Foreign Country.— Except when authorized by a license obtained from the Commissioner of Patents a person shall not file or cause or authorize to be filed in any foreign country prior to six months after filing in the United States an application for patent or for the registration of a utility model, industrial design, or model in respect of an invention made in this country. A license shall not be granted with respect to an invention subject to an order issued by the Commissioner of Patents pursuant to section 181 without the concurrence of the head of the departments and the chief officers of the agencies who caused the order to be issued. The license may be granted retroactively where an application has been filed abroad through error and the application does not disclose an invention within the scope of section 181.
(b) Application.— The term “application” when used in this chapter includes applications and any modifications, amendments, or supplements thereto, or divisions thereof.
(c) Subsequent Modifications, Amendments, and Supplements.— The scope of a license shall permit subsequent modifications, amendments, and supplements containing additional subject matter if the application upon which the request for the license is based is not, or was not, required to be made available for inspection under section 181 and if such modifications, amendments, and supplements do not change the general nature of the invention in a manner which would require such application to be made available for inspection under such section 181. In any case in which a license is not, or was not, required in order to file an application in any foreign country, such subsequent modifications, amendments, and supplements may be made, without a license, to the application filed in the foreign country if the United States application was not required to be made available for inspection under section 181 and if such modifications, amendments, and supplements do not, or did not, change the general nature of the invention in a manner which would require the United States application to have been made available for inspection under such section 181.
Practical notes
The penalties are serious. Under section 185, a person who files abroad without a required license cannot receive a US patent for the invention, and a patent already granted is invalid, unless the failure was through error and the invention is not subject to secrecy. Under section 186, willful violation is a crime punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, up to 2 years in prison, or both.
The rule turns on where the invention was made, not on the nationality of the inventors or the applicant. A European company with a single US-based engineer named as co-inventor may need a license before its first filing at the EPO.
Export control rules apply on top of section 184. A foreign filing license also authorizes exporting technical data for preparing, filing and prosecuting foreign applications (37 CFR 5.11(b)), but other export of technical data is governed by the export regulations (MPEP 140). If you draft US inventions in any cloud tool, our security page lists where PatentAssist processes invention data, which is what export-control counsel will ask.
Related rules and guidance
- 37 CFR
- § 5.11, § 5.12, § 5.13, § 5.14, § 5.15, § 5.25
- MPEP
- 115, 120, 140
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All annotated sections of 35 U.S.C.
Statute text from the United States Code published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (uscode.house.gov). Text contains those laws in effect through Public Law 119-124 (October 15, 2026). Editorial notes and footnotes are omitted. The annotations are general information, not legal advice; check the official text and a registered patent practitioner before relying on them.