What happens if not all joint inventors sign a power of attorney in a patent application?

What happens if not all joint inventors sign a power of attorney in a patent application?

If not all joint inventors sign a power of attorney in a patent application, the power of attorney is not effective. According to MPEP 402.10:

A power of attorney must be signed by all of the applicants, or all of the assignees of the entire interest, or all parties entitled to prosecute the application, unless otherwise specified.

This means that for the power of attorney to be valid, it must be signed by all parties with the right to prosecute the application. If some inventors haven’t signed, the USPTO will treat the application as if no power of attorney has been appointed.

To learn more:

• power of attorney
• joint inventors
• patent application
• USPTO