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Navigating your patent assignment application

Did you know you can transfer ownership in your patent even before it's issued? Find out why inventors may want or be required to assign their patents.

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by   Ronna L. DeLoe, Esq.

Ronna L. DeLoe is a freelance writer and a published author who has written hundreds of legal articles. She does...

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Updated on: December 4, 2023 · 3 min read

Filing patent assignment applications

• Why assignees need inventors' signatures

Assignment of a provisional patent

Some inventors prefer to sell their invention rather than retain the patent to it. You can assign your patent at any time, including before the patent is approved. You can even assign future patent rights to an invention that isn't yet patented.

By assigning your rights to the invention before applying for a patent , you can get paid for your invention immediately, rather than enduring the current two- to three-year wait from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In return, the purchaser, or assignee, receives your entire interest in the invention and can begin to profit from their investment.

It isn't required that you file a patent assignment application with the USPTO, but most patent attorneys urge you to do so, as it provides a record of the transfer of ownership. Unlike in a copyright contract, only the assignor-inventor of a patent has to sign the form, while the assignee does not. If there are multiple inventors, all must sign the assignment form. Although it's not required, it's advisable to have the document notarized, as is having witnesses to your signature.

After executing a written document of the assignment, an assignee or assignor who decides to file their patent assignment application with the USPTO has three months after the assignment is effective to do so. Include an official USPTO cover sheet with your assignment form when you file.

Why assignees need inventors' signatures

An employee or independent contractor may have no choice but to assign patent rights to their employer. In some industries, such as companies involved in technical and science development, assignment of rights is often a requirement in hiring contracts, which may contain patent assignment applications annexed to the contract. An employee who creates an invention during working hours or using company resources may expect their employer to actively seek their signature on a patent assignment to the company.

If an invention belongs to the employer company or to another assignee, it's important for the assignee to get signatures on a patent assignment document as soon as possible. Some of the reasons for doing so include that the inventor might:

• Move and can't be located
• Have ill will towards the company, due to being fired or other such situation
• Be one of several inventors, so the company has to search for all inventors at a later date
• Become incapacitated and unable to sign at a later date
• Have no incentive to sign in the future
• Have the patent tied up in a divorce

Getting signatures on a patent assignment shows that the company has clear title to the patent, which can provide assurance to investors and lenders that the company owns the patent free and clear of others' claims.

You can assign a provisional patent just like you would a nonprovisional, or utility, patent, which is one that has already been issued. A provisional patent , on the other hand, has not yet been issued but instead holds your place in line while you're waiting to get the patent, which can take several years. A provisional patent shows you've invented something unique that you're still working on. The language “patent pending" describes this type of patent.

Conversion of a provisional patent to a utility patent must occur within 12 months after filing the provisional patent. Patent attorneys also often advise assigning a provisional patent for the same reasons they advise getting inventors' signatures right away.

Although you may find it more beneficial to retain ownership of the patent, there are cases where assignment is more advantageous. Before you assign your patent, be sure to understand all the implications in doing so.

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USPTO Trademark Assignment: Everything You Need To Know

USPTO trademark assignment is the process of assigning a trademark you have registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to a third party. 3 min read updated on February 01, 2023

Updated November 25, 2020:

USPTO trademark assignment is the process of assigning a trademark you have registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to a third party. A trademark is a symbol, word, device, phrase, or combined elements that represent your business or brand. When this mark is associated with the quality of your services, it is a valuable form of intellectual property (IP). Because this is considered an asset, it can be assigned. Assignment means to transfer the ownership rights of your trademark to a third party in exchange for profit or benefit. Registered and pending trademarks, as well as patents and patent applications, can be assigned. You must file an assignment agreement with the USPTO. Business reorganization, acquisition, and other circumstances may result in a trademark assignment.

Steps in Assigning a Trademark

• Draft an assignment agreement and have it signed by both parties. Name the person or company buying the trademark as the assignee and the current trademark owner as the assignor. Clearly identify both these parties as well as the trademark in question. Establish terms such as the cost of the trademark, how disputes about the assignment will be settled, and who will pay the transfer fee.
• Fill out the Recordation Form Cover Sheet, which can be completed online. You'll need to include the name and address of a registered agent to receive official USPTO information.
• Submit both the agreement and the cover sheet to the USPTO's Assignment Recordation unit. This can be done online, by fax, or through standard mail. The latter two options require you to establish a deposit account to pay the USPTO recording fee. Mailed forms can be submitted with a money order or check payable to the USPTO director.
• If your trademark is state-registered, you must also record the transfer with the applicable state.
• The USPTO Patent and Trademark Database will be automatically updated for assignments as well as name changes and mergers. When filling out your form, check one of those boxes for the nature of conveyance to ensure that records are updated. Do not select other, which will not update the record. The records will also not be updated if you file multiple documents with the same execution date, the application is in a blackout period, or you have exceeded the allowed number of ownership changes. In these cases, you must make a written request to have the database updated.
• Choose the correct conveyance type, either assignment of part of the interest or assignment of the entire interest along with the associated goodwill.

Points To Remember

All trademark transfers must also include the mark's associated goodwill . This includes the earning power created by customer recognition of the mark. Trademark assignment may be found invalid if the goodwill does not accompany the transfer of the mark.

Failing to follow the ownership transfer procedures can result in liability if the assignee infringes on a third-party trademark. If you buy a trademark and the original owner does not transfer ownership, a dispute could result.

Check the database to determine whether the updates have been made. Click ownership to display the current owner or assignment to display the entire chain of title.

Do not use assignment if you simply need to change your name as the trademark owner. Instead, record the name change through the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch .

Patent and Trademark Ownership

When it comes to a patent, owning the patent gives you the exclusive right to sell, manufacture, and use the invention in question. Patents last for 20 years while trademark registration lasts for 10 years and can be renewed. The term ownership references the current holder of a trademark or patent. If you own a registered trademark, no one else can use that mark on their products or services, and imports carrying an infringing mark may be blocked from entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Assignment Fees

While trademark assignment once carried a $25 fee and a $40 fee was required for trademarks, the USPTO recently discontinued this fee for patents and not for trademarks. That's because trademarks are rarely assigned while the assignment is quite common in the fast-paced world of patents.

If you need help with USPTO trademark assignment, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.

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Content Approved by UpCounsel

• Trademark Assignment Recordation
• Trademark Transfer: Everything You Need To Know
• How Long Does a Trademark Last
• Trademark Law
• Selling Trademarks
• Trademark Checklist
• Are All Trademarks and Names Legally Protected
• Available Trademarks
• What does Trademark Mean
• Purpose of Trademark

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US Inventor Declarations and Assignments

After a patent application has been filed, the inventor may be required to sign and submit various forms.  What happens if this is several years into the patent process, and the inventor can no longer be reached to sign these forms?  And what can you do now to prevent any complications from arising?  

One country which requires the inventor to submit signed forms is the USA.  Each inventor named on the application must submit a signed declaration and assignment with the US Patent and Trademark Office before payment of the Issue Fee.

What are US Declarations and Assignments?

An inventor declaration confirms the inventor’s belief that they are the original (or joint original) inventor of the claimed invention.  If an inventor declaration is not submitted by each inventor before payment of the Issue Fee, the application will be abandoned.

An assignment provides documentary evidence that the rights in the invention have been transferred from the inventor to the applicant, and that the applicant is the rightful owner of any patent granted for the claimed invention.  If a signed assignment is not submitted by each inventor before payment of the Issue Fee, the application could grant in the name of the inventor(s) instead of the applicant, although this can usually be rectified post-grant.

What if the inventor cannot or will not sign these forms?

In cases where the US application is filed later in the patent process, such as at the 12 month convention deadline, or even the 30 month national phase deadline, it is possible that the inventor(s) may no longer be available to sign the required forms (for example, they have left the company).  What happens then?

A substitute statement can be submitted in lieu of a declaration if an inventor is deceased, is under legal incapacity, has refused to sign the declaration, or cannot be found or reached after a diligent effort.  To demonstrate a “ diligent effort ”, it is usually sufficient to send a copy of the forms to the inventor’s last known address, along with an explanation of what is required and specifying a reasonable time-period for returning the signed forms (for example, 28 days).  If the forms are not returned by the end of this period, then it can be assumed that the inventor is no longer reachable.

If an inventor cannot or will not sign the required assignment to transfer their rights in the invention to the applicant, then one possible option where the inventor is an employee of the applicant is to submit their employment agreement in lieu of the assignment.  However, for the purposes of the USA, the employment agreement must address the employee’s obligation to assign any Intellectual Property (IP) rights created during their employment to their employer.  Ideally the document should contain language which indicates a present and active intent to assign any IP rights (for example, “ I hereby assign… ”), rather than language which merely indicates an intent to assign any IP rights in the future (for example, “ I agree to assign… ”).

If the employment agreement does not contain suitable language, one option is to rely on any local IP laws which legally require the employee to assign any IP rights to their employer.  For example, in the UK, section 39 of the Patents Act 1977 states that an invention made by an employee will automatically belong to the employer if:

“ (a) it was made in the course of the normal duties of the employee or in the course of duties falling outside his normal duties, but specifically assigned to him, and the circumstances in either case were such that an invention might reasonably be expected to result from the carrying out of his duties; or

(b) the invention was made in the course of the duties of the employee and, at the time of making the invention, because of the nature of his duties and the particular responsibilities arising from the nature of his duties he had a special obligation to further the interests of the employer’s undertaking. ”

Therefore, if the employee and the employer are based in the UK and the invention falls into category (a) or (b) above, then the invention will automatically belong to the employer under UK law.

As such, in addition to filing a copy of the employment contract, a copy of the relevant local laws and a memorandum explaining why, under local law, the invention belongs to the employer can also be filed to prove full ownership of the application by the applicant.

What can the applicant do to avoid the above complications?

1/ Make use of PCT declarations if filing an International application, particularly:

• (i) the declaration as to the identity of the inventor;
• (ii) the declaration as to the applicant’s entitlement, as at the international filing date, to apply for and be granted a patent; and,
• (iv) the declaration of inventorship (for the purposes of the designation of the USA).

For example, declaration (ii) satisfies the proof of right requirements in the Indian national phase, and (iv) satisfies the declaration requirements in the US national phase.  Declarations (i) and (ii) can be signed off by the acting attorney; declaration (iv) however must be signed by each inventor.

2/ Make sure any employment agreements, particularly for research & development staff, clearly address the employee’s obligation to assign any IP rights created, and include language which actively and presently assigns those rights to the employer.

If existing employment agreements do not contain such clauses, a separate agreement can be drawn up for the employee to sign and then appended to their contract. 

3/ Include a clause in the employment agreement requiring the employee to sign any necessary forms both during and after their employment.  This contractual agreement can be referred to should the employee actively refuse to sign any required forms later in the patent process.

Taking the above actions now can help to avoid any problems later in the patenting process which will likely incur unnecessary costs to rectify.  Should you require any assistance or advice, please contact me at christina .schiavone@ wynne-jones .com .

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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued final rules implementing the inventor's oath or declaration provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA) on August 14, 2012.

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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued final rules implementing the inventor's oath or declaration provisions of the America Invents Act (AIA) on August 14, 2012. These new provisions went into effect on September 16, 2012 and apply to all non-PCT U.S. patent applications filed under 35 U.S.C.§ 111(a) (including continuing and PCT bypass applications) filed on or after September 16, 2012. These provisions are applicable to oaths and declarations in design, plant, and reissue applications irrespective of the fact that they are not filed under 35 U.S.C.§ 111(a).

Forms are now available for download. Our old forms are also available since for PCT national stage applications, the new inventor's oath/declaration provisions only apply to applications having an international filing date on or after September 16, 2012. Accordingly, the old inventor oath/declaration forms should be used for any such national stage applications with an international filing date prior to September 16, 2012.

You will notice that there are now several options available: A combined Declaration/Assignment document or a Declaration document that will need to be filed with a separate Assignment instrument. In both cases a separate Power of Attorney form will need to be submitted. These forms are available on our "Download" tab above. The other noticeable change is that as a result of the new requirement for an Application Data Sheet to be submitted with all new applications, the Declaration form itself contains only very basic information, and each inventor signs his or her own copy of the Declaration or Declaration/Assignment form. All of the signed forms are then submitted to the USPTO.

Regarding the Power of Attorney, if an assignee files an application as the applicant, a Power of Attorney by Applicant form should be signed by a party authorized to act on behalf of the assignee. After a company provides our firm with an executed Power of Attorney by Applicant, it will not be necessary to provide us any further Power of Attorney forms for future filings of patent applications on behalf of that assignee so long as the assignee is the applicant in those cases. Accordingly, a copy of the Power of Attorney by Applicant will be filed along with a Transmittal form, which our firm will prepare and execute, identifying a specific application for the Power of Attorney.

Similarly, if there is no assignee, or if the assignee has opted not to file the application and not to take over prosecution to the exclusion of the Inventor(s), the Inventor(s) and/or an Inventor’s Legal Representative (if an Inventor is deceased or legally incapacitated) are the applicants and should execute the Power of Attorney by Applicant . This will grant our firm Power of Attorney for one specific patent application identified in an attached Transmittal form, which we will prepare and execute. If, however, the Inventor(s) are the original applicants of an application and an assignee or assignees wishes to take over prosecution to the exclusion of the Inventor(s), a representative of the company, i.e., the assignee, should execute a Power of Attorney to Prosecute to be filed along with a Statement Under § 3.73(c) establishing ownership of the application. To establish ownership, any Assignment from the Inventor(s) must be recorded concurrently with or prior to the filing of the Power of Attorney to Prosecute. Please note that the filing of an ADS with a new application sets forth the identification of the applicant. Where an application is filed without indentifying an assignee(s) as the applicant, the USPTO identifies the inventor(s) as the applicant. Under such circumstances, if the assignee wishes to be identified as the applicant, then the assignee(s) would need to execute a Power of Attorney to Prosecute to be filed along with along with a Statement Under § 3.73(c) rather than a Power of Attorney by Applicant.

The following USPTO patent forms may be installed on your computer. Please click on the appropriate declaration or assignment form below to see instructions on how to use the form and how to download/save it to your computer. You may then open and use the forms directly from your computer.

• Power of Attorney Flowchart
• Inventor Declaration for Utility or Design Application and Assignment for Single Assignee
• Inventor Declaration for Utility or Design Application and Assignment for Multiple Assignees
• Power of Attorney by Applicant (Inventor) - Use this form when the Inventor is granting Power of Attorney
• Power of Attorney by Applicant (Assignee) - Use this form when the Assignee is granting Power of Attorney
• Power of Attorney to Prosecute Applications Before the USPTO - Use this form if the Assignee wishes to take over prosecution to the exclusion of the Inventor(s)
• Inventor Declaration for Utility or Design Application
• Inventor Declaration for Plant Application
• Supplemental Sheet for Declaration and Assignment Forms
• Japanese Declaration and Assignment with Supplemental Sheet
• Japanese Declaration and Assignment - Multiple Assignees
• Single Assignee
• Multiple Assignees

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Learn how to search like an examiner and give input on patent applications

Published on: 05/09/2024 14:38 PM

Get an in-depth look at how examiners search for prior art when reviewing a patent application, and learn how you can provide input on pending patent applications that matter to you: join us for our second Public Engagement Partnership meeting virtually and in person at United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET .

We’ll conduct a hands-on prior art search workshop, and USPTO patent experts and practitioners will provide information and strategies on filing third-party submissions – documents that members of the public can file for consideration during an examiner’s review of a pending patent application.

This event is free and specifically designed for members of the public in advocacy groups, public interest-focused nonprofits, academia, and civil society organizations. Learn more about the Public Engagement Partnership meeting series on the USPTO website . 

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An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

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