§ 1.12 Assignment records open to public inspection.

• (a)
  1. Separate assignment records are maintained in the United States Patent and Trademark Office for patents and trademarks. The assignment records, relating to original or reissue patents, including digests and indexes (for assignments recorded on or after May 1, 1957), published patent applications, and assignment records relating to pending or abandoned trademark applications and to trademark registrations (for assignments recorded on or after January 1, 1955), are open to public inspection at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and copies of those assignment records may be obtained upon request and payment of the fee set forth in § 1.19 and § 2.6 of this chapter.
  2. All records of assignments of patents recorded before May 1, 1957, and all records of trade-mark assignments recorded before January 1, 1955, are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The records are open to public inspection. Certified and uncertified copies of those assignment records are provided by NARA upon request and payment of the fees required by NARA.
• (b) Assignment records, digests, and indexes relating to any pending or abandoned patent application which has not been published under 35 U.S.C. 122(b) are not available to the public. Copies of any such assignment records and related information shall be obtainable only upon written authority of the applicant or applicant’s assignee or attorney or agent or upon a showing that the person seeking such information is a bona fide prospective or actual purchaser, mortgagee, or licensee of such application, unless it shall be necessary to the proper conduct of business before the Office or as provided in this part.
• (c) Any request by a member of the public seeking copies of any assignment records of any pending or abandoned patent application preserved in confidence under § 1.14, or any information with respect thereto, must:
  1. Be in the form of a petition including the fee set forth in § 1.17 (h); or
  2. Include written authority granting access to the member of the public to the particular assignment records from the applicant or applicant’s assignee or attorney or agent of record.
• (d) An order for a copy of an assignment or other document should identify the reel and frame number where the assignment or document is recorded. If a document is identified without specifying its correct reel and frame, an extra charge as set forth in § 1.21(j) will be made for the time consumed in making a search for such assignment.