When the owner of an application or registration discovers that another party has improperly recorded an assignment or name change against the owner’s application or patent, the owner must correct the error by having a corrected cover sheet filed with the Assignment Recordation Branch.

The owner should contact the party who recorded the papers with the erroneous information and request that such party record corrective papers. However, if the party cannot be located or is unwilling to file corrective papers, then the true owner must record the necessary papers with the Assignment Recordation Branch to correct the error.

Specifically, the owner should submit the following to the Assignment Recordation Branch:

1. (A) a completed cover sheet identifying the application or patent against which the assignment was improperly recorded;
2. (B) an affidavit or declaration (1) identifying itself as the correct owner, (2) stating that the previously recorded document was submitted with erroneous information, and (3) providing the reel and frame number of the previously recorded document; and
3. (C) the required fee (37 CFR 3.41 ) for each application or patent to be corrected.

The affidavit or declaration should include a summary of the true chain of title to make it clear that the chain of title for the application or patent identified should not be considered altered by the incorrect assignment or name change, and a statement that the original applicant or patentee or last correct assignee has been, and continues to be, the owner of the application, or patent at issue.

On the corrected cover sheet, the owner should check the box titled "Other" in the area of the cover sheet requesting the "Nature of Conveyance," and indicate that the submission is to correct an error made in a previously recorded document that erroneously affects the identified application(s) or patent(s). The party should also write the name of the correct owner in both the box requesting the name of the conveying party and the box requesting the name and address of the receiving party; this is to make it clear that ownership never changed and that any assignment or name change recorded against the application(s) or patent(s) was erroneous.