Q: Are patents able to be assigned to other people in a will?
A:
Yes. A patent is a personal property that one can assign in a will just like an art collection, a car, or a stock portfolio.
How often does a patent pass through will in practice, is a different question. Typically patents are owned by companies, and not by the inventors themselves. Further, for most people who die at an advanced age, the days of inventing is in their distant past, so I would think that most patents expire before their inventors do.
Tim Akpinar agrees with this answer
A:
Mr. Mlynek is correct. The vast majority of patents are owned by companies, not by individual people. It would be unusual for a patent owner to die before a patent expires but unusual does not mean never. If you own a valuable patent as an individual, it is worth having a conversation with the attorney that handles your will to ensure that this patent is specifically addressed in the will.
If you found this answer helpful, you may want to look at my answers to other questions about patent law are available at the bottom of my profile page at https://lawyers.justia.com/lawyer/kevin-e-flynn-880338
Kevin E Flynn
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