Patents, trademarks and copyrights transfer on paper, not at a registrar.
Ownership moves by written assignment, executed through your attorney and recorded with the USPTO. It is slower and more formal than a domain, and worth understanding before you begin.
An idea you are no longer developing still has value.
A patent you are not licensing, a mark from a business you have wound down, software you no longer maintain — each one keeps costing money in maintenance fees and attention, and returns nothing. Assigned to a charity, it can be licensed or sold and the proceeds put to work.
Giving Center accepts intellectual property alongside domain names, vehicles, real estate and other non-cash gifts. The same team handles it, and you get the same answer within two business days.
Patents
Issued utility and design patents, including ones with maintenance fees coming due. We need the patent number and the current assignee of record.
Trademarks
Registered marks, usually from a business that has closed or rebranded. A mark transfers with the goodwill of the business it identifies, which is a detail your attorney will raise.
Copyrights and software
Written work, music catalogs, photography libraries, source code and the rights that go with them, where ownership is clear and documented.
Royalty interests
An income stream from a license or a published work can be assigned in the same way. Send us the agreement and the payment history.
What we can accept
The common thread is that the asset can be assigned cleanly: one owner, no liens, no pending dispute, and no license we would inherit without knowing about it.
A mark tied to a business you have wound down is usually straightforward. A patent with co-inventors who have not all signed, or a mark still in use by someone else, usually is not. We look at this early so neither of us spends legal fees on something that cannot close.
How the assignment runs
1. You send us the registration details
The registration or patent number, the current owner of record, and the name of the attorney who will handle it. We check the record and tell you within two business days whether to go further.
2. Your attorney drafts the assignment
The assignment is your document, prepared by your counsel, naming Giving Center as assignee. We review and sign it. We do not draft it for you and we do not give you legal advice about it.
3. The assignment is recorded
Trademark and patent assignments are recorded with the USPTO. Recording is what makes the change public and durable. Allow several weeks for it to appear on the record.
4. We acknowledge the gift
You receive a written acknowledgment dated to the execution of the assignment, and we sign Form 8283 where your deduction requires it.
A trademark or patent for which you claim more than $5,000 needs an independent qualified appraisal, arranged by you. Giving Center cannot perform it and cannot recommend a value.
More on that in appraisals and IRS requirements.
Tell us about the asset
We reply within two business days. Sending this commits you to nothing.