What is the significance of September 16, 2012, in patent application assignments?

September 16, 2012, is a significant date in patent application assignments, particularly for applications claiming the benefit of a provisional application. The MPEP states:

If an application claiming the benefit of the earlier filing date of a provisional application includes subject matter that is not common with subject matter of the provisional application, new assignment papers must be recorded for the application claiming the benefit of the provisional application, unless the later application is filed on or after September 16, 2012 and the assignee is the original applicant therein.

This date marks a change in assignment requirements. For applications filed on or after September 16, 2012, if the assignee is the original applicant, new assignment papers may not be necessary even if the application includes subject matter not common with the provisional application. This change aligns with broader reforms introduced by the America Invents Act (AIA) that came into effect on that date.