Worldwide: Terrorism, Homeland Security & Defence

Christopher Nolan's latest film, The Odyssey, raises an intriguing question: could the legendary Trojan Horse have been patented under modern UK or European patent law? This analysis explores the technical and legal challenges of protecting military inventions, from novelty requirements and publication restrictions to the tension between disclosure obligations and strategic secrecy.

The U.K. government possesses extraordinary powers to impose secrecy orders on privately developed defense technology through patent applications, restricting publication, commercialization, and even foreign filings. With over 1,150 active secrecy directions currently in force and declassification rates collapsing since 2016, defense technology companies face growing risks when seeking patent protection for innovations they have independently funded and developed.

To give regulated firms the confidence and ability to share information, the provisions disapply both obligations of confidentiality and civil liability when a firm uses the new information sharing gateways. In practical terms, this means that a regulated firm sharing customer information with another regulated firm under these provisions would have a defence to a breach of confidence claim or other civil action from the customer concerned.