Patent Transfer

The exclusive right to an invention is a patent. It is a written agreement that protect an inventor’s right to exclude others from the manufacture, market, or sale of his/her invention without an explicit agreement. It also grants the creator the right to profit from his or her invention. Without them, an inventor does not retain exclusive rights to the item or article of invention and cannot stop others from manufacturing or copying his or her invention. An inventor can agree to a patent transfer or may license the invention to a company for a price and therefore profit from the invention. A patent transfer can provide the funding and marketing needed to legitimize and birth an invention.

Patent transfers occur when one individual or entity agrees to hand over all or some of the exclusive rights granted to him or her by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Part of the rights afforded to an inventor is the right to do what he or she wants with his or her invention. There is no obligation to transfer a patent if the inventor does not wish to do so.

To transfer a patent successfully, the two parties must write and sign a contract detailing the specifics of the transfer. Patents are commonly transferred through a will or license and can be sold by the owner. An inventor can also transfer a patent through written agreements called assignments. Assignments must be presented before a notary public or an official authorized by the USPTO.

Things every inventor should know about the patent they hold include the type, provisions, and the duration of their patent. If you do not know the types of patents issued by the USPTO, then you may mistakenly apply for the wrong kind for your invention or innovation. Filing the wrong type for your invention guarantees a denial of the application and you will lose your application fee.

There are three kinds of patents: utility, design, and plant. These three categories run the gamut of nearly every conceivable invention acknowledged by the USPTO. Intangible assets and intellectual property can also be transferred between parties as long as both parties sign a binding contract.

There are countless reasons patent transfers are profitable for inventors. Licensing is one method by which an owner and the licensing party may both profit from an invention. Licensing an invention to a manufacturer can result in the collection of royalties by the owner of the patent. The manufacturer now has the right to produce the invention and sell it on the open market.

The following are issues related to this topic:

Trademarks
Copyrights
Protecting Your Invention
Intellectual Property
Tangible Assets
Intangible Assets