What rights does patent ownership provide?

Patent ownership gives the patent owner the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing into the United States the invention claimed in the patent. This is stated in 35 U.S.C. 154(a)(1). However, ownership does not necessarily give the owner the right to make, use, sell or import the invention,…

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How is patent ownership transferred?

Patent ownership can be transferred through an assignment. According to 35 U.S.C. 261, assignments of patent applications, patents, or any interest therein must be in writing. The MPEP defines an assignment as: ‘a transfer by a party of all or part of its right, title and interest in a patent [or] patent application….’ An assignment…

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What is joint ownership of a patent?

Joint ownership of a patent occurs when multiple parties together own the entire right, title, and interest of the patent property. This can happen in several scenarios: Multiple partial assignees of the patent property Multiple inventors who have not assigned their rights A combination of partial assignee(s) and inventor(s) who have not assigned their rights…

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What rights do joint owners of a patent have?

Joint owners of a patent have specific rights as outlined in 35 U.S.C. 262, which states: ‘In the absence of any agreement to the contrary, each of the joint owners of a patent may make, use, offer to sell, or sell the patented invention within the United States, or import the patented invention into the…

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How does an international application designating the United States affect national patent rights?

An international application designating the United States has significant effects on national patent rights. According to 35 U.S.C. 363: An international application designating the United States shall have the effect, from its international filing date under article 11 of the treaty, of a national application for patent regularly filed in the Patent and Trademark Office.…

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What happens if I miss the 12-month deadline for filing a nonprovisional application after a provisional application?

What happens if I miss the 12-month deadline for filing a nonprovisional application after a provisional application? If you miss the 12-month deadline for filing a nonprovisional application claiming the benefit of a provisional application, you lose the right to claim that benefit. The MPEP states: A provisional application is not entitled to the right…

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How does a security interest affect small entity status?

A security interest in a patent or patent application generally does not affect small entity status unless it is defaulted upon. According to 37 CFR 1.27(a)(5): A security interest does not involve an obligation to transfer rights in the invention for the purposes of paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(3) of this section unless the security interest…

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How does transferring rights affect small entity status?

Transferring rights in an invention can affect small entity status. According to MPEP 509.02: If the individual inventor, small business concern, or nonprofit organization assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed, or came under an obligation to assign, grant, convey, or license, any rights to the invention to any individual, small business concern, or nonprofit organization which…

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