Public Patent Records Reveal Personal Data of Inventors
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records allow nearly unlimited access to the Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and bank account numbers of hundreds of inventors who petition to reclaim their patent rights each year. Inventors who are late to file maintenance fees due after four, eight and 12 years of patent ownership must explain the delay to the patent office and show why they should be allowed to keep their patent rights. More than 1,000 inventors petition to reclaim their patent rights each year.
Patent petitions reveal inventors' data, Washington Times, August 23, 2005.
