---
title: "List what a patent assignment writing shows before recordation"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/check-a-patent-assignment-before-it-is-recorded/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A23-CO20261022-5-US"
practice_area: "Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs"
tier: "red"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# List what a patent assignment writing shows before recordation

> List whether the document is a writing, who signed it, and whether it grants the whole or a specified part of the United States. Write no recordation and no instrument. Do not decide that it can be recorded.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/check-a-patent-assignment-before-it-is-recorded/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs.md) |
| Human involvement | Red: Lawyer writes; AI may check, clarify or collect data |
| How AI is used | List whether the document is a writing, who signed it, and whether it grants the whole or a specified part of the United States. Write no recordation and no instrument. Do not decide that it can be recorded. |
| What the lawyer must review | You decide whether to request recordation. Section 261 says that, subject to the title, patents have the attributes of personal property. The Office shall maintain a register of interests in patents and applications and shall record any related document upon request, and may require a fee. Applications for patent, patents, or any interest in them, shall be assignable in law by an instrument in writing. The applicant, patentee, or assigns or legal representatives may in like manner grant and convey an exclusive right under the application or patents to the whole or any specified part of the United States. A certificate of acknowledgment is prima facie evidence of the execution. An assignment, grant, or conveyance is void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for a valuable consideration, without notice, unless it is recorded in the Office within three months from its date or prior to the date of that subsequent purchase or mortgage. The section does not require both parties to sign and does not require an end date. The three-month rule is about priority against a later purchaser or mortgagee. You do not calculate that date here. Section 171(b) applies the invention provisions of the title to design patents, except as otherwise provided. You still read section 261 before a design-patent assignment is recorded. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Check a patent assignment before it is recorded](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/check-a-patent-assignment-before-it-is-recorded.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: List whether the document is a writing, who signed it, and whether it grants the whole or a specified part of the United States. Write no recordation and no instrument. Do not decide that it can be recorded.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- The tool writes no sentence of the assignment or of a recordation request.
- The three-month recording rule is not a date the tool computes.

## Sources

- [35 U.S.C. § 261 (ownership and assignment)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/261) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [35 U.S.C. § 171 (patents for designs)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/35/171) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*