State secret
A state secret is protected by criminal law in Germany (for example in the provisions on treason , § 94 StGB , disclosure of state secrets, § 95 StGB, spying, § 96 StGB, disclosure of state secrets, § 97 StGB and in various ancillary laws ). Under administrative law, the protection of confidentiality takes place u. a. by treating it as classified .
definition
Section 93 (1) of the Criminal Code defines state secrets as "facts, objects or knowledge that are only accessible to a limited group of people" ( ability to maintain secrecy ) "andmust be kept secret from a foreign powerin order to avoid the risk of serious detriment to the external security of the Federal Republic To avert Germany "( need for confidentiality ). According to Paragraph 2 of this provision, facts that violate the free-democratic basic order are not state secrets. In addition to military files,examples of state secrets are“weapons, airplanes, writings, drawings, plans, but also facts that are only mentally fixed, e. B. News about objects or planned projects ”of the state.
The extent to which generally accessible and publicly known facts can represent a state secret according to the mosaic theory , especially if they are the subject of press publications, has not been conclusively clarified.
State secrets in commercial legal protection
The registration of inventions that may contain a state secret is regulated in Germany in Sections 50 and 53 of the Patent Act and in Section 9 of the Utility Model Act (criminal offenses are contained in Section 52 (2) PatG, Section 9 (2) GebrMG and Section 4 (4) Semiconductor Protection Act ). When the European Patent Office under the current legal situation in Germany allowed patent applications containing a state secret, are not directly submitted (Art. II § 11 of the Law on International Patent Treaties ).
In Austria there was a regulation for patents of the federal administration in § 110 of the Patent Act, which was repealed in 1998.
In Switzerland , Article 62 of the Patent Act stipulates that the publication of the entry in the register can be postponed indefinitely at the request of the responsible department if the federal government has acquired rights to a patent. The provision was of no practical importance and was repealed on July 1, 2008 without replacement.
In Luxembourg , a rudimentary provision is contained in Art. 38 of the Patent Act 1992/1998 (search for non-disclosure).
Know and understand regulations about secret patents a. also Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Turkey, the USA and the United Kingdom.
literature
- Hans-Jürgen Breith: Patents and utility models for state secrets , Diss. Munich (University of the Federal Armed Forces) 2002, Peter Lang Verlag Frankfurt / M. u. a., ISBN 978-3-631-39848-7 .
- Alfred W. Kumm: Protection of state secrets and patent protection of secret inventions - review, critical situation and Outlook. Bock and Herchen, Bad Honnef 1980, ISBN 3-88347-047-3 .
- H.Dv. 99, M.Dv.Nr. 9, L.Dv. 99 - Classified information regulation - Valid for the Wehrmacht - 1943, ISBN 978-3-749-46692-4 .
- Weber: The patent fund of the former National People's Army (NVA) , Wehrtechnik 1992, 51.
See also
Web links
- Leipziger Commentary : Carrier 1998 , Schmidt 2006
- Secrecy protection - patents and utility models for state secrets German Patent and Trademark Office
- FAQ's - Frequently asked questions about the protection of confidentiality German Patent and Trademark Office
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. BGHSt 20, 342 ( Pätsch case )
- ↑ Jura Forum encyclopedia , accessed on 25 August 2011.
- ↑ Patent Act (PatG) Act for the Protection of Patents, Section 50 Confidentiality Order
- ↑ § 53 Failure to issue a confidentiality order
- ^ Peter Heinrich, PatG / EPÜ, Zurich: Orell Füssli 1998, ISBN 3-280-02532-X , marginal note 62.01 (page 278)
