If your goal is to sell your patent outright to someone else, you need to do what is known as “assigning” the patent. Very simply, assigning a patent is when you file paperwork to transfer your patent rights to the person or organization you are selling the patent to. Upon completion of this process, they become the new patent holders instead of you. Unfortunately, because there is some paperwork involved, assigning a patent is a bit more complex than say, selling a car. There are many legal technicalities and pitfalls to be mindful of, and it pays to investigate these before diving into the process of assigning your patent to someone.

And while PHN strives to be the best patent help resource, we realize no one website can do it all. Therefore, we took the liberty of collecting the best free patent resources the rest of the Internet has to offer and displayed them here. Take the time to familiarize yourself with them, in addition to the comprehensive patent assignment articles we offer here on PatentHelpNow.com.

1)      USPTO Assignments on the Web

This handy web tool allows you to query the US Patent & Trademark Office’s database of pattent assignments. If you are wondering who has licensed which patents to whom, keying in the relevant names (of individuals and the patents you have in mind) will tell you in relatively short order. This tool is most helpful if you are looking for either a specific patent or a specific person who you believe has assigned that patent.

2)      Guide to Patenting and USPTO Patent Applications

If you are completely new to the subject of patent assignment, this free guide from About.com is a terrific place to start. After a mere 15-20 minutes of reading you will understand all the basic terminology as well as the underlying mechanics of how patent assignment works. Helpful tips for ensuring your patent assignment is valid and recognized by the courts are also offered. Most inventors (even experienced ones) would probably do well to give this one a read!

3)      Patent Assignments Must be in Writing, but Some Transfers are not Assignments

One of the most popular patent-related blogs on the Internet offers an insightful post advising patent holders to use caution when assigning their patents to someone. The post draws upon a controversial court decision in which an attempted patent assignment was overturned by a judge. Read this post from start to finish (including the many thoughtful comments) to ensure that this doesn’t happen to you!

4)     Sample Patent Assignment Contract

You don’t need to become a lawyer (thankfully!), but every inventor should at least have a working knowledge of a patent assignment contract. This website offers a sample agreement that we encourage you to glance through and familiarize yourself with. We also have an in-depth article in which we explain the most important sections of that agreement and what you should know about them. Required reading for any patent holder or inventor!

PatentHelpNow.com is a website dedicated to providing inventors with free patent help. You can contact us at: PatentHelpNow@gmail.com