5. Assignment and Transmission of Rights

ASSIGNMENT AND TRANSMISSION OF RIGHTS

Patent owners shall also have the right to assign, transfer by succession the patent, and conclude licensing contracts for the same.

Note: Patents or applications for patents and invention to which they relate, shall be protected in the same way as the rights of other property under the Civil Code¹. (Sec. 103, IP Code)²

Assignment of Inventions

An assignment may be of the entire right, title or interest in and to the patent and the invention covered thereby, or of an undivided share of the entire patent and invention, in which event the parties become joint owners thereof. An assignment may be limited to a specified territory. (Sec. 104, IP Code)³

Form of Assignment

The assignment must be in writing, acknowledged before a notary public or other officer authorized to administer oath or perform notarial acts, and certified under the hand and official seal of the notary or such other officer. (Sec. 105, IP Code)⁴

Requirements for Recording of Assignment

• It must be in writing and accompanied by an English translation, if it is in a language other than English or Filipino;
• It must be notarized;
• It must be accompanied by an appointment of a resident agent, if the assignee is not residing in the Philippines;
• It must identify the letters patent involved by number and date and give the name of the owner of the patent and the title of the invention. In the case of an application for a patent, it should state the application number and the filing date of the application and give the name of the applicant and the title of the invention. If the assignment was executed concurrently with or subsequent to the execution of the application but before the application is filed or before its application number is ascertained, it should adequately identify the application by its date of execution, the name of the applicant, and the title of the invention.
• It must be accompanied by the required fees.