Brian Brunsvold
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P., Attorney, Washington, DC, USA

John Paul
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P., Attorney, Washington, DC, USA

Under U.S. law, patents are granted to the inventors of the patents, who, like other patent owners, typically transfer ownership of their patents by an assignment. U.S. patent law generally requires that such assignments be in writing, but in Akazawa v. Link New Technology Int’l., Inc., No. 2007-1184 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 31, 2008), the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that ownership of a patent may be transferred not only by an assignment in writing, but also based on operation of other laws of property transfer.