605 Applicant [R-11.2013]
Effective September 16, 2012, the Office revised the rules of practice to permit a person to whom the inventor has assigned or is under an obligation to assign an invention to file and prosecute an application for patent as the applicant, and to permit a person who otherwise shows sufficient proprietary interest in the matter to file and prosecute an application for patent as the applicant on behalf of the inventor. See MPEP § 605.01 for information regarding the applicant in applications filed on or after September 16, 2012.
For applications filed before September 16, 2012, a person to whom the inventor assigned an invention could file and prosecute an application for patent, but the inventor is considered the applicant. See MPEP § 605.02 for information regarding the applicant in applications filed before September 16, 2012.