Who can file for a patent in the United States?
United States patent law provides that inventors may apply for a patent. Inventors applying for patents in the United States can have any citizenship. It is not necessary to be a United States citizen. An inventor will be required to make an oath or declaration of inventorship. If the invention was jointly invented, applications can be filed jointly. In some cases, patents can be applied for on behalf of inventors who have died by a representative of the estate, or in rare cases where an inventor suffers from mental incapacity, by a guardian. If one inventor refuses to sign, or is unavailable, a joint inventor or other person having a proprietary interest in the invention may apply on behalf of the non-signing inventor. Of course, despite the requirements for inventors to be applicants, it is commonplace for inventive rights to be assigned so that an application will frequently identify the inventors and the assignees who may actually own the application and intellectual property right
