What is a patent assignment?

A patent assignment is a legal document that assigns ownership of an invention or idea to another person or company. It is an agreement between the inventor and the assignee (the person or company the inventor is assigning the patent to) that states the inventor is transferring his or her rights to the invention. The assignee must be legally responsible for the invention in order to be assigned a patent. In Washington, patent assignments must be written and signed by both the inventor and assignee, and are not valid until they are properly recorded with the United States Patent and Trademark Office or a similar authorized office. In some cases, the assignee may be required to pay a fee or other consideration to the inventor in exchange for the rights to the invention, depending on the terms of the assignment. In other cases, the inventor may choose to assign the patent rights without compensation. It is important to note that a patent assignment cannot be used to transfer any rights to any ideas or inventions that have not already been granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Additionally, a patent assignment cannot be used to transfer rights to an invention that has already been assigned to another person or company.

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What is a patent assignment?

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