Who can be considered an applicant for a patent application?

According to 37 CFR 1.42, the term ‘applicant’ can refer to:

• The inventor or all joint inventors
• A legal representative of a deceased or legally incapacitated inventor
• The assignee
• A person to whom the inventor is under an obligation to assign the invention
• A person who otherwise shows sufficient proprietary interest in the matter

The MPEP states: If a person is applying for a patent as provided in 37 CFR 1.46, the word ‘applicant’ refers to the assignee, the person to whom the inventor is under an obligation to assign, or the person who otherwise shows sufficient proprietary interest in the matter, who is applying for the patent under 37 CFR 1.46 and not the inventor.

To learn more:

• patent applicant
• inventor
• assignee
• legal representative