Source: https://bitlaw.com/source/mpep/324.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 20:04:15+00:00

Document:
37 C.F.R. 3.73 (pre-AIA) Establishing right of assignee to take action.
The owner or assignee (other than a juristic entity) of a patent property based on an application filed before September 16, 2012, can take action in a patent application or patent proceeding in numerous instances. The owner or assignee can sign a reply to an Office action (pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.33(b)(3) and (4) ), a request for a continued prosecution application under 37 CFR 1.53(d) (MPEP § 201.06(d)), a terminal disclaimer (MPEP § 1490), Fee(s) Transmittal (PTOL-85B) (MPEP § 1306), or a request for status of an application (MPEP § 102). The owner or assignee can file an application under pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.47(b) (MPEP § 409.03(b)), appoint its own registered patent practitioner to prosecute an application (pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.32 and MPEP § 402.07), and grant a power to inspect an application (MPEP § 104). The owner or assignee consents to the filing of a reissue application (MPEP § 1410.01), and to the correction of inventorship (MPEP § 602.01(c) or MPEP § 1481).
As discussed in subsection II below, all parties having any portion of the ownership must join in "taking action" (i.e., act together as a composite entity) in order to be entitled to conduct the prosecution in patent matters.
(B) The application has been assigned by at least one of the inventors, and there is thus at least one "partial assignee." As defined in pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.71(b)(2), a partial assignee is any assignee of record who has less than the entire right, title and interest in the application. The application is owned by the combination of all partial assignees and all inventors who have not assigned away their right, title and interest in the application.
Inventors A and B invent a process and file their application, signing the declaration for the patent application. Inventors A and B together may conduct prosecution of the application. Inventor A then assigns all his/her rights in the application to Corporation X. As soon as Corporation X (now a partial assignee as per pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.71(b)(2 )) is made of record in the application as a partial assignee (by filing a statement pursuant to pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.73(b) stating Corporation X is an assignee of an undivided interest in the entirety of the application), Corporation X and Inventor B together may conduct prosecution of the application. Corporation X and Inventor B then both assign their rights in the application to Corporation Y. As soon as Corporation Y (now an assignee of the entire right, title and interest) is made of record in the application as the assignee (by filing a statement pursuant to pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.73(b) stating it is assignee of the entire right, title and interest), Corporation Y is then the sole (one hundred percent) owner and thus may, by itself, conduct prosecution of the application.
The submission establishing ownership by the assignee pursuant to pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.73(b) is generally referred to as the "statement under 37 CFR 3.73(b) " or the "37 CFR 3.73(b) statement." A duplicate copy of the pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.73(b) statement is not required and should not be submitted. See 37 CFR 1.4(b) and MPEP § 502.04.
When a continuation-in-part application is filed before September 16, 2012 by an assignee, a newly executed statement under pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.73(b) must be filed. When in a design application, a continued prosecution application (CPA) under 37 CFR 1.53 (d) is filed, the statement filed under 37 CFR 3.73(b) in the parent application will serve as the statement for the CPA.
(A) The submission may be signed by a person in the organization having apparent authority to sign on behalf of the organization. Pre-AIA 37 CFR 3.73(b)(2)(ii). An officer (chief executive officer, president, vice-president, secretary, or treasurer) is presumed to have authority to sign on behalf of the organization. The signature of the chairman of the board of directors is acceptable, but not the signature of an individual director. Modifications of these basic titles are acceptable, such as vice-president for sales, executive vice-president, assistant treasurer, vice-chairman of the board of directors. In foreign countries, a person who holds the title "Manager" or "Director" is normally an officer and is presumed to have the authority to sign on behalf of the organization. A person having a title (administrator, general counsel) that does not clearly set forth that person as an officer of the assignee is not presumed to have authority to sign the submission on behalf of the assignee. A power of attorney (pre-AIA 37 CFR 1.32(b)(4) ) to a patent practitioner to prosecute a patent application executed by the applicant or the assignee of the entire interest does not make that practitioner an official of an assignee or empower the practitioner to sign the submission on behalf of the assignee.

References: § 201
 § 1490
 § 1306
 § 102
 § 409
 § 402
 § 104
 § 1410
 § 602
 § 1481
 § 502