Last updated: August 17, 2026

Can I Transfer or Sell My Patent to Others?

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. Patent law provides for the transfer or sale of a patent, or of an application for patent, by a document called an assignment. Assignments may transfer part or the entire interest in the patent. The assignee (the recipient of the assignment), becomes the owner of the patent and has the same rights as the original patent owner.

There may also be assignments that don't convey all right, title and interest in the patent. For example, an assignment might convey patent rights for a specified part of the United States. Another example may include a mortgage using a patent as collateral passes ownership of the patent to the lender until the mortgage has been satisfied, and the patent is transferred back to the borrower. A conditional assignment also passes ownership of the patent and is regarded as absolute until canceled by the parties or by the decree of a competent court.

An assignment should be recorded with the USPTO within 3 months or before it is bought to protect the initial assignee from later buyers. When possible, an assignment of any patent or patent application should be witnessed before a notary public. Such acknowledgment constitutes prima facie - evidence of the execution of the assignment.

Torrey Pines Law Group, PC serves technology innovators with protecting intellectual property, obtaining regulatory approvals and clearances, and making deals and closing technology transactions throughout the U.S., including in major technology hubs such as San Diego, San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Jose, Silicon Valley, Boston, Cambridge, Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Denver, Seattle, Portland, Boulder, Orlando, the Research Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill), the Mid-Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC), Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Ann Arbor, and throughout Southern California in Los Angeles, Orange County, Irvine, Torrey Pines, Sorrento Valley, and La Jolla.

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