Can a patent be sold or conveyed?
Yes. A patent is personal property and may be sold to others or mortgaged; it may be bequeathed by a will, and it may pass to the heirs of a deceased patentee. The patent law provides for the transfer or sale of a patent, or of an application for patent, by a signed instrument in writing. Such an instrument is typically referred to as an assignment. Patent assignments should be recorded in the U.S. Patent Office. If an assignment, grant, or conveyance of a patent or an interest in a patent (or an application for patent) is not recorded in the U.S. Patent Office within three months from its date, it is void against a subsequent purchaser for a valuable consideration without notice, unless it is recorded prior to the subsequent purchase.
