[Patentpractice] Every USPTO system relating to assignments is broken today

Thu Oct 16 07:53:58 UTC 2025

It will be recalled that assignments need to be recorded within three 
months of the date of execution (35 U.S. Code § 261, 15 U.S. Code § 
1060).  If you happen to have in hand an assignment that was executed on 
July 16, 2025, then it needs to be recorded by today, October 16, 2025.  
It looks to me as though it is impossible to do such a recordation 
today, given that the USPTO has shut down Assignment Center.

See blog article 
<https://blog.oppedahl.com/every-uspto-system-relating-to-assignments-is-broken-today/>.

On 9/27/2025 2:50 AM, Carl Oppedahl via Patentpractice wrote:
>
> Well, the USPTO seems to have blinked.  The upheaval scheduled for 
> September 27 has apparently been postponed until October 20.  See blog 
> article 
> <https://blog.oppedahl.com/uspto-blinks-on-shutdown-of-familiar-assignment-searches/>.
>
> On 8/27/2025 3:13 PM, Carl Oppedahl via Patentpractice wrote:
>>
>> I think there is a typo in the headline and opening sentences.   What 
>> they meant to write is:
>>
>>     *Things will be miserable on September 27*
>>
>>     All of the existing ways of searching for assignments will get
>>     shut down on September 27.  A successor system that has never
>>     been beta-tested will be turn on on September 27.  It won't work
>>     right.
>>
>>     The new system will be harder to use and will require that you
>>     log in and use two-factor authentication, even when searching for
>>     information that is a matter of public record.
>>
>>     For a user who is trying to look up assignment information for a
>>     PCT application, it will fail.
>>
>>     For a user who is trying to look up assignment information for a
>>     Hague application, it will fail.
>>
>>     The new system will fail to correctly match up a recordation
>>     against a PCT number with the corresponding US national-phase
>>     application number.
>>
>>     The new system will fail to correctly match up a recordation
>>     against a US national-phase application number with the
>>     corresponding PCT number.
>>
>>     The new system will fail to correctly match up a recordation
>>     against a  Hague number with the corresponding US designation
>>     (35-series) application number.
>>
>>     The new system will fail to correctly match up a recordation
>>     against a US designation (35-series) application number with the
>>     corresponding Hague number.
>>
>>     For a user who is trying to look up assignment information for an
>>     application that has not been published it will fail.
>>
>>     Within a week or two, it will be discovered that the new system
>>     has bugs that reveal applicant information that is not supposed
>>     to be revealed, and parts of the new system will have to be shut
>>     down abruptly.
>>
>>     Weeks will pass before most of the bugs and defects in the
>>     successor system are more or less corrected.  Even after half a
>>     year some bugs and defects will not have been corrected.
>>
>> *
>> *
>>
>> On 8/27/2025 12:41 PM, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office wrote:
>>> USPTO enhances assignment records search process
>>> Assignment Search will be live effective September 27, 2025
>>>
>>>
>>> 	
>>>
>>> Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page 
>>> <https://links-1.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fcontent.govdelivery.com%2Faccounts%2FUSPTO%2Fbulletins%2F3efdd07/1/01000198ecd61ac8-0edaff98-b019-4408-a805-cafcfccf4819-000000/wb21iwIPvMeOGEhUERmlilCPCS1FxhebVjelf-nLoNY=420>.
>>>
>>>
>>>   News Brief
>>>
>>>
>>>     USPTO enhances assignment recordssearch process
>>>
>>> The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is streamlining the 
>>> overall assignment search experience by replacing two legacy search 
>>> applications—Patent Assignment Search and Assignments on the 
>>> Web—with one, more reliable, secure, and easy to use Assignment 
>>> Search application.
>>>
>>> Starting on September 27, 2025, Assignment Search will be live, and 
>>> the two legacy systems will cease to be available. This new, 
>>> web-based application provides customers seeking patent and 
>>> trademark assignment information with reliable, detailed results via 
>>> a modernized interface. Customers can perform basic searches and 
>>> refine their searches using the filtering options available in the 
>>> “advanced search” field of the tool.
>>>
>>> To improve the customer experience, all previous assignment services 
>>> will be centrally located in Assignment Center. The new Assignment 
>>> Search application can be found in *Assignment Center 
>>> <https://links-1.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fassignmentcenter.uspto.gov%2F%3Futm_campaign=subscriptioncenter%26utm_content=%26utm_medium=email%26utm_name=%26utm_source=govdelivery%26utm_term=/1/01000198ecd61ac8-0edaff98-b019-4408-a805-cafcfccf4819-000000/z8W_EfvTSARxBIa4gtdydrk3xJ0EWQqVbmClCXc_vhY=420>*on 
>>> September 27, 2025.
>>>
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>
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