The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has yet to implement new rules requiring applicants to promptly record patent ownership information, but it recently made it much easier to review patent assignment documents that have been recorded at the USPTO. The USPTO previously provided ownership information on its patent assignment database website, but now provides PDF images of the actual recorded documents–such as executed assignment documents.

This is a significant advantage, because it lets the public confirm the ownership information, which the USPTO does not verify, but simply pulls from the recordation cover sheet. Since the USPTO does not provide a standard assignment form, it also could be interesting to see the assignment language different entities use.