37 CFR § 3.21 — Identification of patents and patent (MPEP Coverage Index) – BlueIron IP
37 CFR § 3.21 Identification of patents and patent
This page consolidates MPEP guidance interpreting 37 CFR § 3.21, including 19 rules from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only, it is not legal advice.
Summary
This section outlines the specific requirements for identifying patents in assignments, ensuring that only the patent number is necessary and no other identifying information is required.
What this section covers
- Define that this section covers identifying a patent by its number in an assignment.
- Identify the scope of guidance on how to properly reference patents in assignments.
Key obligations
- State that an assignment must identify the patent by its number.
- Specify that no other identifying information is required beyond the patent number in an assignment.
Practice notes
- Advise practitioners to ensure the patent number is clearly and accurately stated in all assignments.
- Warn against including unnecessary or conflicting information that could lead to confusion or errors in the assignment process.
Official MPEP § 3.21 — Identification of patents and patent
Source: USPTOLast Modified: 10/30/2024 08:50:22
3.21 Identification of patents and patent applications.
An assignment relating to a patent must identify the patent by the patent number. An assignment relating to a national patent application must identify the national patent application by the application number (consisting of the series code and the serial number; e.g., 07/123,456). An assignment relating to an international patent application which designates the United States of America must identify the international application by the international application number; e.g., PCT/US2012/012345. An assignment relating to an international design application which designates the United States of America must identify the international design application by the international registration number or by the U.S. application number assigned to the international design application. If an assignment of a patent application filed under § 1.53(b) of this chapter is executed concurrently with, or subsequent to, the execution of the patent application, but before the patent application is filed, it must identify the patent application by the name of each inventor and the title of the invention so that there can be no mistake as to the patent application intended. If an assignment of a provisional application under § 1.53(c) of this chapter is executed before the provisional application is filed, it must identify the provisional application by the name of each inventor and the title of the invention so that there can be no mistake as to the provisional application intended.
[Added, 57 FR 29634, July 6, 1992, effective Sept. 4, 1992; amended, 60 FR 20195, Apr. 25, 1995, effective June 8, 1995; revised, 62 FR 53132, Oct. 10, 1997, effective Dec. 1, 1997; revised, 69 FR 29865, May 26, 2004, effective June 25, 2004; revised, 80 FR 17918, Apr. 2, 2015, effective May 13, 2015]
- Assignment Ownership
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- Correspondence Address
- Director Authority
- Petition Procedures
- Petition Filing
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- International Design
- Hague Principles
- Ida Filing
- Ida Requirements
- Ida Title Description
- Pct
- Pct Filing
| MPEP Section | Rules |
|---|---|
| MPEP § 302.03 | |
| MPEP § 317.01 |