MPEP § 308 — MPEP § 308
Current through: 2022-07-01

308-Issue to Applicant 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Chapter 0300 

 Section 308 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 308 Issue to Applicant [R-10.2019]

 [Editor Note: This MPEP section is only applicable to applications
 filed on or after September 16, 2012.] 

 
 35 U.S.C. 118 
 Filing by other than inventor. 

 [Editor Note: Applicable to any patent application filed on or after September
 16, 2012. See pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 118 for the law otherwise
 applicable.] 

 A person to whom the inventor has assigned or is under an
 obligation to assign the invention may make an application for patent. A person who
 otherwise shows sufficient proprietary interest in the matter may make an application
 for patent on behalf of and as agent for the inventor on proof of the pertinent facts
 and a showing that such action is appropriate to preserve the rights of the parties. If
 the Director grants a patent on an application filed under this section by a person
 other than the inventor, the patent shall be granted to the real party in interest and
 upon such notice to the inventor as the Director considers to be sufficient.
 

 

 

 
 37 CFR 1.46 Application for patent by an assignee, obligated assignee, or a person who
 otherwise shows sufficient proprietary interest in the matter. 

 [Editor Note: Applicable only to patent applications filed under
 35 U.S.C.
 111(a) , 363 ,or 385 
 on or after September 16, 2012. See pre-Hague 37 CFR 1.46 or pre-AIA 37 CFR
 1.46 for the rule otherwise applicable.] 

 *****

 
 (b) If an application under 35 U.S.C.
 111 is made by a person other than the inventor under
 paragraph (a) of this section, the application must contain an application data
 sheet under § 1.76 specifying in the applicant information section
 ( §
 1.76(b)(7) ) the assignee, person to whom the inventor is
 under an obligation to assign the invention, or person who otherwise shows
 sufficient proprietary interest in the matter. If an application entering the
 national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 , or a
 nonprovisional international design application, is applied for by a person other
 than the inventor under paragraph (a) of this section, the assignee, person to
 whom the inventor is under an obligation to assign the invention, or person who
 otherwise shows sufficient proprietary interest in the matter must have been
 identified as the applicant for the United States in the international stage of
 the international application or as the applicant in the publication of the
 international registration under Hague Agreement Article 10(3). 
 
 (1) If the applicant is the assignee or a person
 to whom the inventor is under an obligation to assign the invention,
 documentary evidence of ownership ( e.g., assignment for
 an assignee, employment agreement for a person to whom the inventor is under
 an obligation to assign the invention) should be recorded as provided for in
 part 3 of this chapter no later than the date the issue fee is paid in the
 application.
 

 (2) If the applicant is a person who otherwise
 shows sufficient proprietary interest in the matter, such applicant must
 submit a petition including:
 
 (i) The fee set forth in §
 1.17(g) ;
 

 (ii) A showing that such person has
 sufficient proprietary interest in the matter; and
 

 (iii) A statement that making the application
 for patent by a person who otherwise shows sufficient proprietary
 interest in the matter on behalf of and as agent for the inventor is
 appropriate to preserve the rights of the parties.
 

 
 

 
 

 
 *****

 
 (e) If a patent is granted on an application filed under
 this section by a person other than the inventor, the patent shall be granted to
 the real party in interest. Otherwise, the patent may be issued to the assignee or
 jointly to the inventor and the assignee as provided in § 3.81 .
 Where a real party in interest has filed an application under § 1.46 ,
 the applicant shall notify the Office of any change in the real party in interest
 no later than payment of the issue fee. The Office will treat the absence of such
 a notice as an indication that there has been no change in the real party in
 interest.
 

 
 

 

 35 U.S.C.
 118 and 37 CFR 1.46(e) provide that where the
 Director grants a patent on an application filed under 35 U.S.C. 118 by a
 person other than the inventor, the Office must grant the patent to the real party in
 interest. Therefore, the Office is requiring applicants other than the inventor to notify
 the Office of any change in the real party in interest in a reply to a notice of allowance.
 Absent any such notification, the Office will presume no change has occurred and will grant
 the patent to the real party in interest of record. 
 

 Applicants other than the inventor can notify the Office of a
 change in the real party in interest by providing the real party in interest in Box 3 of
 the PTOL-85B. See MPEP §
 307 . The real party in interest will be listed in the assignee
 section of the patent. This does not change the applicant designated in the application or
 on any patent that is granted. Any desired change to the designated applicant must be made
 in accordance with 37
 CFR 1.46 no later than issue fee payment. Note: requests to change
 the recorded applicant cannot be filed after patent grant. 
 

 Applicants other than the inventor should record the
 documentary evidence of ownership (e.g., assignment for an assignee, employment agreement
 for a person to whom the inventor is under an obligation to assign the invention) before
 payment of the issue fee. 
 

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 301-Ownership/Assignability of Patents and Applications 
 301.01-Accessibility of Assignment Records 

 
 

 302-Recording of Assignment Documents 
 302.01-Assignment Document Must Be Copy for Recording 

 302.02-Translation of Assignment Document 

 302.03-Identifying Patent or Application 

 302.04-Foreign Assignee May Designate Domestic Representative 

 302.05-Address of Assignee 

 302.06-Fee for Recording 

 302.07-Assignment Document Must Be Accompanied by a Cover Sheet 

 302.08-Mailing Address for Submitting Assignment Documents 

 302.09-Facsimile Submission of Assignment Documents 

 302.10-Electronic Submission of Assignment Documents 

 
 

 303-Assignment Documents Not Endorsed on Pending Applications 

 304‑305-[Reserved] 

 306-Assignment of Division, Continuation, Substitute, and Continuation-in-Part in Relation to Parent Application 
 306.01-Assignment of an Application Claiming the Benefits of a Provisional Application 

 
 

 307-Issue to Non-Applicant Assignee 

 308-Issue to Applicant 

 309-Restrictions Upon Employees of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

 310-Government License Rights to Contractor-Owned Inventions Made Under Federally Sponsored Research and Development 

 311-Filing of Notice of Arbitration Awards 

 312-[Reserved] 

 313-Recording of Licenses, Security Interests, and Documents Other Than Assignments 

 314-Certificates of Change of Name or of Merger 

 315-Indexing Against a Recorded Certificate 

 316-[Reserved] 

 317-Handling of Documents in the Assignment Recordation Branch 
 317.01-Recording Date 

 317.02-Correction of Unrecorded Returned Documents and Cover Sheets 

 317.03-Effect of Recording 

 
 

 318-Documents Not to be Placed in Files 

 319-[Reserved] 

 320-Title Reports 

 321‑322-[Reserved] 

 323-Procedures for Correcting Errors in Recorded Assignment Document 
 323.01-Correction of Error in Recorded Cover Sheet 
 323.01(a)-Typographical Errors in Cover Sheet 

 323.01(b)-Typographical Errors in Recorded Assignment Document 

 323.01(c)-Assignment or Change of Name Improperly Filed and Recorded by Another Person Against Owner’s Application or Patent 

 323.01(d)-Expungement of Assignment Records 

 
 

 
 

 324-Establishing Right of Assignee To Take Action in Application Filed Before September 16, 2012 

 325-Establishing Right of Assignee To Take Action in Application Filed On or After September 16, 2012 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
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 Last Modified: 
 
 03/09/2026 20:50:51