What if an inventor is unavailable or refuses to submit a statement for inventorship correction?

Source: FAQ (MPEP-Based)BlueIron Update: 2024-09-27

This page is an FAQ based on guidance 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.

If an inventor is unavailable or refuses to submit a statement for inventorship correction in an issued patent, the assignee may consider filing a reissue application instead. As stated in MPEP 1481.02:

If an inventor is not available, or refuses, to submit a statement, the assignee of the patent may wish to consider filing a reissue application to correct inventorship, because the inventor’s statement is not required for a non-broadening reissue application to correct inventorship.

For more information on correcting inventorship in reissue applications, refer to MPEP § 1412.04.

Tags: inventor refusal, Inventorship Correction, reissue application, Unavailable Inventor