U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

within 3 months of the date of the assignment; the assignment is void against a later purchaser for value without notice, unless it was recorded before that purchase^{1, 2}

within 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years of the date of issue³

within 4, 8 and 12 years of the date of issue; the patent rights lapse and a Notice of Patent Expiration issues³

between the fifth and sixth years after the registration date; a six-month grace period follows, at an additional $100 per class; if nothing is filed by its end, the registration is canceled^{4, 5}

between the ninth and tenth years after the registration date; a six-month grace period follows, at an additional $100 per class; if nothing is filed by its end, the registration is canceled or deemed expired^{4, 5}

A patent has the attributes of personal property and a trademark registration is assignable with the good will of the business, so both pass to heirs or beneficiaries through the estate under state probate law.^{1, 2}

A mark is assignable only with the good will of the business in which it is used. An assignment filed without the goodwill is a common reason the USPTO issues a Notice of Non-Recordation.^{2, 6}

Recording does not transfer title, which passes under state probate law, and the USPTO runs no title search before it records, so recording does not itself prove title. It makes the transfer public and puts a chain of title on file for licensing, enforcement or sale.⁷

Maintenance fees keep in force utility and reissue utility patents based on applications filed on or after December 12, 1980; design and plant patents require none.³

A patent that expired for an unpaid fee can be reinstated by petition from a party acting for the owner, such as the executor, administrator or their patent practitioner. It needs the unpaid fee, the petition fee, a statement that the delay was unintentional and a compliant signature, but not the late surcharge.^{3, 8, 9}

The successor-in-interest carries the registration's maintenance filings. Each Section 8 filing is a signed declaration that the mark is still in use in commerce with the registered goods and services, with one specimen per class; excusable nonuse is available only in narrow circumstances beyond the owner's control.⁴

A Section 9 renewal keeps the registration alive for another ten years; failure to renew expires it. Madrid Protocol registrations (serial numbers beginning with 79) file under Section 71 on the same schedule and renew the international registration directly with WIPO.⁴

A Section 15 Declaration of Incontestability is optional: for a mark on the Principal Register in continuous use for five consecutive years after registration, it makes the registration incontestable on most grounds. It is usually combined with the Section 8 declaration, at $575 per class electronically.^{5, 10}

A pending patent application does not end with the inventor. The legal representative may apply on the same terms as the inventor, and where the inventor dies between filing and grant, the patent may issue to the legal representative upon proper intervention (37 CFR 1.43).^{11, 12}

The legal representative signs a substitute statement in place of the inventor's oath or declaration on Form PTO/AIA/02, identifying the signer, their relationship to the inventor and that the inventor is deceased. An assignee or obligated assignee may instead proceed under 37 CFR 1.46.^{12, 13}

The USPTO has no death-notification process for patent or trademark owners and no deadline for notice of a death. The executor or successor-in-interest records the change of ownership through the Assignment Center with a recordation cover sheet and the supporting document.¹⁴

Maintenance fees and any surcharges may be paid by the patentee or by any person or organization on the patentee's behalf, so the executor or heir can pay before the assignment is recorded.³

The USPTO does not require the legal representative's proof of authority to be filed, though the person signing must in fact hold that role. If the executor was already discharged, new letters of administration must be taken out before a new application is filed for the deceased inventor.¹²

An inventor-applicant's power of attorney ends at death unless it is coupled with an interest, and a new power from the heirs, administrators, executors or assignees is then needed. A trademark power of attorney ends at registration or at the final acceptance or denial of a post-registration filing.^{12, 5}

Papers filed on behalf of a juristic entity in a patent matter must be signed by a patent practitioner.⁹

Anyone can file through the Assignment Center. The paper cover sheets PTO-1595 and PTO-1594 are not mandatory, though the USPTO strongly encourages them because they capture every required field.⁷

Recording a patent assignment electronically is free, and a paper recordation costs $54 per property. Recording a trademark assignment costs $40 for the first mark in a document and $25 for each additional mark in the same document (fee code 8521).^{15, 16}

Undiscounted maintenance fees are $2,150 at 3.5 years, $4,040 at 7.5 years and $8,280 at 11.5 years, each with a $540 late surcharge. A reinstatement petition is $2,260 for a delay of one year or less and $3,000 for a longer one; small entities pay 60 percent less and micro entities 80 percent less.¹⁰

Filed electronically, a Section 8 declaration is $325 per class and a combined Section 8 and 9 filing is $650 per class; the grace-period fee is $100 per class.¹⁰

The Assignment Center replaced the old EPAS and ETAS systems. Supporting legal documents are attached as black-and-white TIFF or PDF files.¹⁷

Trademark maintenance documents are filed in Trademark Center, and assignments in the separate Assignment Center. The USPTO is retiring the legacy TEAS forms one by one, including the Section 8, 9, 15 and 71 forms, and expects the transition to be complete in spring 2027.¹⁸

A web-based ePetition in Patent Center is granted immediately when all requirements are met. The USPTO requires additional information when a petition is filed more than two years after expiration, and a paper petition does not guarantee a grant.³

USPTO deadlines do not pause for probate, and not receiving a reminder notice does not shift the burden to the USPTO.³

If TSDR does not show the new owner about a week after a trademark recording, a separate request to the Trademark Operation is required.⁶

Petitions to accept an unintentionally delayed maintenance fee payment in an expired patent³

A nationwide network of academic, public and state libraries designated by the USPTO. Representatives explain the search tools and the application process and help find patent and trademark owner and assignee information; they cannot give legal advice but can help you use the USPTO directory of local patent attorneys.¹⁹

Who qualifies: Open to the public, no appointment or fee required