MPEP § 323 — MPEP § 323
Current through: 2022-07-01

323-Procedures for Correcting Errors in Recorded Assignment Document 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Chapter 0300 

 Section 323 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 323 Procedures for Correcting Errors in Recorded Assignment
 Document [R-01.2024]
 

 An error in a recorded assignment document will be corrected by Assignment
 Recordation Branch provided a “corrective document” is submitted. The “corrective document”
 must include the following:
 

 
 (A) A copy of the original assignment document with the corrections made
 therein. The corrections must be initialed and dated by the party conveying the
 interest; and
 

 (B) A new Recordation Form Cover Sheet (form PTO-1595) (See
 MPEP §
 302.07 ). 
 

 
 The new recordation form cover sheet must identify the submission as a
 “corrective document” submission and indicate the reel and frame number where the
 incorrectly recorded assignment document appears. The original cover sheet should be
 submitted with the corrective document. The corrective document will be recorded and given
 a new reel and frame number and recording date. The recording fee set forth in
 37 CFR
 1.21(h) is required for each patent application and patent against
 which the corrective document is being recorded. See MPEP § 302.06 . 
 

 Corrections may be made on the original assignment document, for example,
 by lining out an incorrect patent or application number in a merger or change of name (see
 MPEP §
 314 ). 
 

 Office policy regarding recordation of assignment documents is directed
 toward maintaining a complete history of claimed interests in property and, therefore,
 recorded assignment documents will not be expunged even if subsequently found to be
 invalid. See In re Ratny, 24 USPQ2d 1713 (Comm’r Pat. 1992). Once a
 document is recorded with the Assignment Recordation Branch, the Assignment Recordation
 Branch will not remove the papers from the record relating to that application or patent.
 See MPEP §
 323.01(d) .
 

 
 323.01 Correction of Error in Recorded Cover Sheet [R-01.2024]

 
 37 CFR 3.34 Correction of cover sheet errors. 

 
 (a) An error in a cover sheet recorded pursuant to
 §
 3.11 will be corrected only if:
 
 (1) The error is apparent when the cover sheet is compared
 with the recorded document to which it pertains and
 

 (2) A corrected cover sheet is filed for recordation.

 
 

 (b) The corrected cover sheet must be accompanied by a copy of the
 document originally submitted for recording and by the recording fee as set
 forth in §
 3.41 .
 

 
 

 

 Any alleged error in a recorded cover sheet will only be corrected if
 the error is apparent from a comparison with the recorded assignment document. The
 corrected cover sheet should be directed to the Assignment Recordation Branch.
 

 During the recording process, the Assignment Recordation Branch will
 check to see that a cover sheet is complete and record the data exactly as it appears on
 the cover sheet. The Assignment Recordation Branch does not compare the cover sheet with
 the assignment document (or other document affecting title). Once the document is
 recorded, the Office will issue a notice of recordation.
 

 The party recording the document should carefully review the notice of
 recordation.
 

 Typographical errors made by the Office will be corrected promptly and
 without charge upon written request directed to the Assignment Recordation Branch. For
 any other error, the party recording the document is responsible for filing the papers
 and paying the recordation fees necessary to correct the error, using the procedures set
 forth in MPEP §§
 323.01(a) through 323.01(c) .
 

 
 323.01(a) Typographical Errors in Cover Sheet [R-01.2024]

 A party who wishes to correct a typographical error on a recorded
 cover sheet must submit the following to the Assignment Recordation Branch:
 

 
 (A) a copy of the originally recorded assignment document (or other
 document affecting title);
 

 (B) a corrected cover sheet; and

 (C) the required fee for each application or patent to be corrected
 ( 37 CFR
 3.41 ). 
 

 
 See 37 CFR 3.34 . The party requesting correction should also
 submit a copy of the original cover sheet, to facilitate comparison of the corrected
 cover sheet with the originally recorded document.
 

 The party filing the corrected cover sheet should check the box
 titled 
 "Other"
 
 
 in the area of
 the sheet requesting 
 "Nature of
 Conveyance,"
 
 
 and indicate that the submission is to correct an
 error in a cover sheet previously recorded. The party should also identify the reel
 and frame numbers (if known), and the nature of the correction (e.g.,
 
 "correction to the spelling of assignor’s
 name"
 
 
 or 
 "correction of
 application number or patent number"
 
 
 ). The Office will then
 compare the corrected cover sheet with the original cover sheet and the originally
 recorded assignment document (or other document affecting title) to determine whether
 the correction is typographical in nature. If the error is typographical in nature,
 the Assignment Recordation Branch will record the corrected cover sheet and correct
 the Assignment Historical Database.
 

 I. TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS IN COVER SHEET THAT DO NOT AFFECT TITLE TO APPLICATION
 OR PATENT If the original cover sheet contains a typographical error that
 does not affect title to the application or patent against which the original
 assignment or name change is recorded, the Assignment Recordation Branch will
 correct the Assignment Historical Database and permit the recording party to keep
 the original date of recordation.
 

 II. TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS IN COVER SHEET THAT DO AFFECT TITLE TO APPLICATION OR
 PATENT If the original cover sheet contains a typographical error that
 affects title to the application or patent against which the assignment or name
 change is recorded, the recording party will not be entitled to keep the original
 date of recordation. Rather, the Assignment Recordation Branch will correct its
 automated records and change the date of recordation to the date the corrected
 cover sheet was received in the Office.
 

 

 
 323.01(b) Typographical Errors in Recorded Assignment Document [R-08.2012]

 If there is an error in the recorded assignment document (or other
 document affecting title) rather than in the cover sheet, the party responsible for
 an erroneous document (e.g., the assignor) must either create and record a new
 document or make corrections to the original document and re-record it. If an
 assignor is not available to correct an original document or execute a new one, the
 assignee may submit an affidavit or declaration in which the assignee identifies the
 error and requests correction. The affidavit or declaration must be accompanied by a
 copy of the originally recorded papers, a cover sheet, and the required fee for each
 application or patent to be corrected ( 37 CFR 3.41 ). See In re
 Abacab International Computers Ltd., 21 USPQ2d 1078 (Comm’r Pat.
 1987).
 

 

 
 323.01(c) Assignment or Change of Name Improperly Filed and Recorded by
 Another Person Against Owner’s Application or Patent [R-01.2024]
 

 When the owner of an application or registration discovers that
 another party has improperly recorded an assignment or name change against the
 owner’s application or patent, the owner must correct the error by having a corrected
 cover sheet filed with the Assignment Recordation Branch.
 

 The owner should contact the party who recorded the papers with the
 erroneous information and request that such party record corrective papers. However,
 if the party cannot be located or is unwilling to file corrective papers, then the
 true owner must record the necessary papers with the Assignment Recordation Branch to
 correct the error. 
 

 Specifically, the owner should submit the following to the Assignment
 Recordation Branch: 
 

 
 (A) a completed cover sheet identifying the application or patent
 against which the assignment was improperly recorded; 
 

 (B) an affidavit or declaration (1) identifying itself as the
 correct owner, (2) stating that the previously recorded document was submitted
 with erroneous information, and (3) providing the reel and frame number of the
 previously recorded document; and 
 

 (C) the required fee ( 37 CFR 3.41 ) for each
 application or patent to be corrected. 
 

 
 The affidavit or declaration should include a summary of the true
 chain of title to make it clear that the chain of title for the application or patent
 identified should not be considered altered by the incorrect assignment or name
 change, and a statement that the original applicant or patentee or last correct
 assignee has been, and continues to be, the owner of the application, or patent at
 issue. 
 

 On the corrected cover sheet, the owner should check the box titled
 
 "Other"
 
 
 in the area of the
 cover sheet requesting the 
 "Nature of
 Conveyance,"
 
 
 and indicate that the submission is to correct an
 error made in a previously recorded document that erroneously affects the identified
 application(s) or patent(s). The party should also write the name of the correct
 owner in both the box requesting the name of the conveying party and the box
 requesting the name and address of the receiving party; this is to make it clear that
 ownership never changed and that any assignment or name change recorded against the
 application(s) or patent(s) was erroneous. 
 

 

 
 323.01(d) Expungement of Assignment Records [R-01.2024]

 Petitions to correct, modify, or “expunge” assignment records are
 rarely granted and will not result in the removal of a document from the assignment
 records. Such petitions are granted only if the petitioner can prove that: 
 

 
 (A) the normal corrective procedures outlined in
 MPEP §§
 323.01(a) through 323.01(c) 
 will not provide the petitioner with adequate relief; and 
 

 (B) the integrity of the assignment records will not be affected by
 granting the petition.
 

 
 Any petition involving redaction of information in an
 assignment record other than personally identifiable information (such as social
 security numbers, home address, phone number, email address, birth date, and
 financial account numbers) is considered to affect the integrity of the assignment
 record.
 

 Assignment records are recognized as distinct from application file
 records. Even if a petition to “expunge” a document is granted with respect to a
 particular application or patent, the image of the recorded document will remain in
 the records of the Assignment Recordation Branch at the same reel and frame number,
 and the image will appear when someone views that reel and frame number. The Office
 will, however, delete the links to the application or patent that was the subject of
 the petition, so that no information about the recorded document will appear when
 someone searches for that application or patent number in the Assignment Historical
 Database. A redacted version of the “expunged” document must be recorded and will
 appear in the assignment records instead of the “expunged” document upon the granting
 of the petition. An additional assignment of the “correct” document may be recorded
 in addition to the redacted version where the redacted version is incomplete or the
 original document was not correct.
 

 

 

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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 20:49:43