The LA Times has an article on the Magnetek verdict: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-10-fi-282-st...

Nice, it got a press mention, with a quote from Crew, one of the law firm's partners.

Suppressed inventions are very rare, but that's one of them.

One of the few others is Airadar, from 1973.[1] Not "AI", "air radar". This was a phased-array radar for small aircraft. Way ahead of its time. So far ahead that the USAF was upset about it being available commercial before it was in use by the military.

[1] https://books.google.com/books?id=NWzlTqj0gQ4C&pg=PA64&lr=&r...

▲

Loquebantur a day ago | parent | next [-]

Suppressed inventions aren't "very rare" per se. You simply don't hear about those that aren't being rescinded while the inventor is still alive.

According to official data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), there were 6,653 active secrecy orders in effect at the end of fiscal year 2026. Roughly 100 to 350 new secrecy orders are added every year. Many remain locked away for decades or more.

If the U.S. government puts a secrecy order on a patent application against the inventor's will, they are legally forbidden from talking about it. The inventor cannot talk about how it works, publish research on it, sell it, or market it. They cannot even discuss the exact classified details with a regular lawyer unless that attorney has the proper security clearance.

	▲	honkostani 18 hours ago \| parent [-]
		[dead]

▲

alexgoodhart a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Why are you Claude