How does inventorship in a continuing application work?

Inventorship in a continuing application depends on the type of continuing application and when it was filed. Key points:

• For applications filed on or after September 16, 2012, the inventorship is initially the inventor(s) named in the application data sheet
• For earlier applications, the inventorship carries over from the parent application
• In a continuation or divisional, the inventorship must include at least one inventor named in the parent application
• In a continuation-in-part, new inventors can be added to cover new matter
• Inventorship can be corrected if needed using procedures under 37 CFR 1.48

For CPAs filed on or after September 16, 2012, the MPEP states: The inventorship of a continuing application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) is the inventor or joint inventors specified in the application data sheet filed before or concurrently with the copy of the inventor’s oath or declaration from the earlier-filed application.

If the inventorship needs to be changed, a request under 37 CFR 1.48 must be filed.

For more information on application data sheet, visit: application data sheet.

For more information on continuing applications, visit: continuing applications.

For more information on inventorship, visit: inventorship.