If you have a patent, you do not need to keep it to yourself forever. There are many reasons why someone would want to sell or transfer patent rights to someone else. No matter what your reason is for doing so, the process is not all that difficult. If you want to learn more about your options, a California sporting goods patent lawyer can tell you more.
How Does The Transfer of Patent Rights Work?
You can easily transfer patent rights to another person by using a patent assignment. This is a document used to transfer the patent to someone else. Only the people giving away the patent, known as the assignors, need to actually sign this document. The assignee can just accept it.
Then this patent assignment needs to be filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. That’s really all that it takes.
What If I Want to Transfer Patent Rights to a Company?
If you want to transfer patent rights to a company instead of a person, that is also something that you can use the patent assignment form for. The transfer of rights from a person to a company follows essentially the same process as the transfer of rights from one person to another.
This kind of transfer is common in situations where an employee of a company invents something and their contract stipulates that what they create belongs to the employer. It can also be wise for an inventor to transfer their patent to a company when they had a great idea, but no way of actually executing it. Maybe they invented a great product, but there’s just no way that they would ever be able to build it for a mass market. Selling or transferring the patent may be their best option.
Is a Transfer of Patent Rights the Same as Licensing?
It is important to note that transferring patent rights is not the same as licensing them. The licensing of patent rights allows someone else to use the patented technology. You keep your patent, but you can cut a deal to make some profit off of what the licensee of your patented invention or tech does to earn money with that patent.
You can make an agreement with someone and license your patent to them for a certain amount of time. At the end of an agreement, you can decide to renew it or end your relationship. It works much like the relationship between a landlord and a tenant who sign a lease and then can decide whether or not to renew once it ends.
Talk to a Patent Lawyer
If you have any questions about how to transfer patent rights or if you have any other options that might be better suited to your situation, contact Burns Patent Law. We can help you figure out the best use for your patent rights and how you can potentially profit from your invention.
