Who can be the applicant for a U.S. national stage application?
The applicant for a U.S. national stage application depends on the international filing date:
For applications with an international filing date on or after September 16, 2012:
According to 37 CFR 1.42, the applicant may be:
- The inventor(s)
- The legal representative of a deceased or legally incapacitated inventor
- The assignee
- The obligated assignee (person to whom the inventor is under an obligation to assign)
- A person who otherwise shows sufficient proprietary interest in the application
For applications with an international filing date before September 16, 2012:
As per pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.41(a)(4):
“The inventorship of an international application entering the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 is that inventorship set forth in the international application, which includes any change effected under PCT Rule 92bis.”
For these earlier applications, the inventors are generally required to be the applicants for the U.S. national stage.
To learn more: