John Anastasi Quoted in Raw Story Article on Potential National Security Issues in Inventions Published Online

“America’s enemies are tricking hobbyists into sharing national secrets: experts”

Co-Founding Partner John N. Anastasi provided expert insight for a Raw Story article on how foreign adversaries may be exploiting publicly shared inventions—especially those posted online by hobbyists or independent inventors—for national security purposes.

Any inventions publicly available online, especially those with defense applications, are subject to export regulations. But inventors working outside traditional academic and business environments can go unchecked, leaving their work vulnerable to manipulation by bad actors.

John explains that patents are the only legal tool to protect these inventions, and the patenting process will also reveal any need for protection via “secrecy orders or export controls.” His comments also highlight the challenges for independent inventors, including the high cost of patenting, which can range from $25,000 to $30,000, and becomes significantly more expensive for international filings. But he cautions, “if an idea is published in the public domain without patent protections, inventors can lose foreign filing rights.”

The article highlights a critical gap in the system: while patents eventually become public, the lack of early protections can leave groundbreaking ideas exposed, and even vulnerable to ill-use by foreign adversaries. Read the full article including more expert commentary on rawstory.com.