Patents & intellectual property
The maintenance fees outlived the business plan.
A patent you aren’t working is a bill with a deadline.
Maintenance fees fall due at set intervals whether the invention was ever commercialized or not, and they escalate. Licensing it out means finding the right company, then negotiating with their counsel. Selling it means a market of buyers who know exactly how motivated you are. And letting it lapse means years of filing costs and your own work quietly evaporating.
Donating is the option most inventors don’t know exists. Assignment is recorded, the fee obligation transfers with it, and the work goes somewhere it may still be licensed rather than expiring on a shelf. For a portfolio built over a career and never fully exploited, it is frequently the most sensible ending available.
We take issued United States and foreign patents, pending applications, trademarks and brand assets, copyrights and literary rights, software and source code, trade secrets and technical documentation, and existing royalty or licensing streams. What these assets earn supports partner organizations working in places where funding is hardest to come by, and education and training programs — which is a fitting second life for work that began as somebody solving a problem nobody had solved yet.
Fees stop
Maintenance obligation transfers with it.
48 hrs
Typical time to hear back from us.
Portfolios
One filing or an entire family.
Tell us what you hold
One short form. A real person from our team replies within two business days — no obligation, no pressure.
Prefer to talk it through? Call (888) 228‑7320
Four steps, and we do three of them
Assignment work takes a few weeks. Almost none of it lands on you.
1
You tell us what you hold
Patent or filing numbers if you have them, or just a description. We can look up the rest ourselves.
2
We review status and title
Within two business days. We check whether fees are current, who is recorded as owner, and whether any licenses or security interests are attached.
3
Assignment is recorded
We prepare the assignment and record it with the USPTO or the relevant office. Your fee obligation ends at transfer.
4
Your paperwork arrives
Documentation of the transfer for your records, and what you need for your deduction alongside your appraisal.
Questions people ask us about IP
My patent was never commercialized. Is it worth anything?
Possibly, and it costs nothing to find out. Value in an unworked patent usually sits in its claims rather than any product — whether it reads on what an industry is now doing, and how much life is left on the term. Plenty of donated patents were never manufactured.
What happens to the maintenance fees?
They transfer with the assignment. Once the transfer is recorded, the obligation is no longer yours. If a fee is due imminently, tell us early so the timing works — a lapsed patent is much harder to do anything with.
Can I donate a pending application?
Often yes. Pending applications can be assigned, though value depends on how far prosecution has gone and what the examiner has said. Send the application number and we’ll look at the file history.
What about trademarks, copyrights and software?
All accepted. Trademarks generally need to travel with the goodwill they represent, which affects how a transfer is structured. Copyrights, literary rights, source code and technical documentation are more straightforward. Existing royalty streams are welcome too — an income-producing asset is among the most useful things we receive.
Do I need my own attorney?
Not required, but sensible for anything substantial, and we’ll work with yours. We prepare and record the assignment; your counsel confirming it fits your wider position is time well spent, particularly where a portfolio or a business is involved.
How is my deduction determined?
Intellectual property is treated differently from most non-cash gifts, and the rules are genuinely complicated — deductions may be limited to your basis initially, with additional deductions possible later as the charity earns income from the property. A qualified independent appraisal is required above $5,000 and is arranged and paid for by you. Speak to your tax advisor before you assign anything; this is one area where the IRS specifics really matter.
More on deductions, paperwork and timing — all donor FAQs
This one is better handled by phone
Intellectual property donations vary more than any other category we handle — a lapsed design patent and a licensed portfolio with income attached have almost nothing in common. A short conversation will tell you whether this is worth pursuing far quicker than a form will. Call (888) 228‑7320 and ask for the IP team.
If you’d rather write it down, the form on this page reaches the same people.
Ready to stop paying to maintain it?
Send us the numbers, or just describe it. There is no obligation.