Overeenkomst betreffende de wederzijdse geheimhouding van uitvindingen die voor de verdediging van belang zijn en waarvoor octrooiaanvragen zijn ingediend

The Governments Parties to this Agreement shall safeguard and cause to be safeguarded the secrecy of inventions for which applications for patents have been received under agreed procedures whenever the secrecy has been imposed on such inventions in the interests of national defence by the Government, hereinafter referred to as the “originating Government”, which was the first to receive an application for a patent covering these inventions.
Provided that this provision shall not prejudice the right of the originating Government to prohibit the filing of an application for a patent for the invention with one or more of the other Governments Parties to this Agreement.
The Governments Parties to this Agreement agree to develop such operational procedures as may be required to effectuate this Article.

The provisions of Article I shall be applied at the request either of the originating Government, or of the applicant for the patent, provided that the latter produces evidence that secrecy has been imposed by the originating Government and that he has received authorisation from that Government to file his application for a secret patent in the country in question.

The Government called upon to safeguard the secrecy of an invention under the terms of Article I shall be entitled to demand from the applicant for the patent a waiver of any claim to compensation for loss or damage due solely to the imposition of secrecy on the invention as a condition prerequisite to the application of such safeguard.

The secrecy measures imposed under Article I shall be removed only on the request of the originating Government. This Government shall give the other Governments concerned six weeks' notice of its intention to remove its own measures.
The originating Government shall take into account as far as possible, having due regard to the security of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the representations made by other Governments within the said six weeks' period.

This Agreement shall not prevent the signatory Governments from entering into bilateral agreements for the same purpose. Existing bilateral agreements shall remain unaffected.

The instruments of ratification or approval of this Agreement shall be deposited as soon as possible with the Government of the United States of America which will inform each signatory Government of the date of deposit of each instrument.
This Agreement shall enter into force 30 days after deposit by two signatory Parties of their instruments of ratification or approval. It shall enter into force for each of the other signatory Parties 30 days after the deposit of its instrument of ratification or approval.

This Agreement may be denounced by any contracting Party by written notice of denunciation given to the Government of the United States of America which will inform all the other signatory Parties of such notice. Denunciation shall take effect one year after receipt of notification by the Government of the United States of America but shall not affect obligations already contracted and the rights or prerogatives previously acquired by the signatory Parties under the provisions of this Agreement.