Does anyone know what the mechanism is for these deferred patent grants? Is there a special carve-out for government classified patents in the law, or is this within the discretion of the USPTO?<p>It really seems like you should either have to file and publish in a reasonable timeframe or just not be granted a patent at all. Otherwise, you could &quot;classify&quot; your patents until someone else is on the verge of re-inventing it, then declassify it and have your cake and eat it too.