What is required to establish ownership for an assignee to take action in a patent application filed before September 16, 2012?

To establish ownership for an assignee to take action in a patent application filed before September 16, 2012, the following is required:

• The assignee must submit documentary evidence of a chain of title from the original owner to the assignee, or a statement specifying where such evidence is recorded in the USPTO assignment records.
• A statement affirming that the documentary evidence was or is being submitted for recordation.
• The submission must be signed by a person authorized to act on behalf of the assignee.

This is outlined in pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.73(b), which states:

“In order to request or take action in a patent or trademark matter, the assignee must establish its ownership of the patent or trademark property of paragraph (a) of this section to the satisfaction of the Director. The establishment of ownership by the assignee may be combined with the paper that requests or takes the action. Ownership is established by submitting to the Office a signed statement identifying the assignee, accompanied by either: (i) Documentary evidence of a chain of title from the original owner to the assignee (e.g., copy of an executed assignment). For patent matters only, the submission of the documentary evidence must be accompanied by a statement affirming that the documentary evidence of the chain of title from the original owner to the assignee was or concurrently is being submitted for recordation pursuant to § 3.11; or (ii) A statement specifying where documentary evidence of a chain of title from the original owner to the assignee is recorded in the assignment records of the Office (e.g., reel and frame number).”