Selling & Buyers
What is a patent assignment agreement?
The short answer
It's the contract that permanently transfers patent ownership from seller to buyer — the legal engine of the roughly $158-million-a-year brokered sale market. Recording the assignment with the USPTO makes the transfer part of the public record.
The full picture
A solid assignment covers more than the price: exactly which patents, applications, and foreign counterparts transfer; representations about ownership and encumbrances; whether the seller keeps any license-back rights; and who handles maintenance fees and pending office actions. Small omissions here surface years later as title disputes.
Assignment versus license is the fundamental fork: assignment is forever, license is yours to keep. Whatever the buyer's template says, have your own patent attorney review before signing — and if you're still deciding whether to assign or license at all, run the commercial comparison first. That part we can help with directly.
Where does your patent stand?
The Beyond the Patent Commercialization Score answers that — a professional, factor-by-factor read on your patent's licensing, sale, build, and partner potential.
Related questions
General information for patent owners — not legal advice. Read the disclaimer.