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TITLE XII SECRET PATENTS 119. (1) The content of all patent applications shall be kept secret during two months following their date of filing, unless the Registry of Industrial Property authorizes their prior disclosure. (2) Before expiration of the period mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the Registry of Industrial Property shall extend the period to five months from the date of filing of the application when it considers that the invention concerned may be of interest for national defense. The Registry shall inform the applicant of the extension and shall immediately place at the disposal of the Ministry of Defense a copy of the patent application filed. (3) For the purposes mentioned in the two preceding paragraphs, the necessary coordination between the Ministry of Defense and the Registry of Industrial Property shall be established so as to determine whether or not an invention might be of interest for national defense. Observing the necessary secrecy, the Ministry of Defense may also be acquainted with all applications filed. (4) Where the national defense interests so require, the Ministry of Defense shall contact the Registry of Industrial Property so that before expiration of the period of five months provided for in the preceding paragraph the latter may order that the patent procedure be kept secret and inform the applicant accordingly. (5) While the patent application or patent is subject to secrecy, the applicant or the owner shall refrain from any act that might enable the invention to become known to unauthorized persons. (6) At the request of the owner, the Ministry of Defense may authorize acts leading to the total or partial working of the subject matter of the application or patent, specifying the conditions under which such acts may be carried out. 120. (1) Patents that are granted following the procedure of secrecy shall be entered in a secret register and shall remain secret for one year from the date of being granted. This period may be extended annually and the owner of the patent shall be informed accordingly. (2) Annual renewal of the secret status shall not apply in time of war until one year after the cessation of hostilities. (3) Following a favorable report by the Ministry of Defense, the Registry of Industrial Property may at any time remove the obligation of secrecy imposed on an application or a specific patent. 121. (1) Secret patents shall not be subject to the payment of annual fees. (2) The owner of a patent may claim compensation from the State for the time during which the patent remains secret. Such compensation may be claimed for each succeeding year and shall be agreed between the parties. Where no agreement can be reached, compensation shall be fixed judicially taking into account the importance of the invention and the profits the owner could have expected to obtain from its free working. (3) Where the invention that is the subject matter of the patent is disclosed through the fault or negligence of its owner, the latter shall lose the right to compensation. 122. (1) For the purposes of the provisions laid down in the preceding Articles, in the case of inventions made in Spain, patents may not be applied for in any foreign country until two months have elapsed after the patent has been applied for at the Spanish Registry of Industrial Property, unless the Registry specifically authorizes otherwise. Such authorization may not under any circumstances be given for inventions that are of interest for national defense, unless the Ministry of National Defense gives special authorization. (2) Where the inventor is usually resident in Spain, unless there is proof to the contrary, the invention shall be deemed to be have been made in Spain.

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