Can you sell a provisional patent?

Steven, see the previous answer posted 9 days ago by Luis Figarella about a similar question (How do I transfer ownership of a patent to a company?). It seems there is no more fee payable to the USPTO for all patent right assignment records since the beginning of the year ...

A provisional patent application is intellectual property, and yes, you can sell it. One simple way to do it would be to execute an assignment - you agree to assign the rights to the provisional patent application to another party, they pay you an agreed amount, and you have the assignment recorded in the patent office. In the US, recording of the assignment is free provided you file it electronically - if filed in paper, the charge is $40.00.

Sorry Simon - with all due respect, you are wrong - I recently spoke to the USPTO assignment branch - if you file the assignment electronically, there is no charge - if you file in paper, there is a $40.00 fee. In fact, even if you file electronically, for example, with all of your original application papers, application branch will not electronically transfer the assignment documents to the assignment branch - believe it or not, they print out your electronically filed assignment documents onto paper, and send the paper to the assignment branch - therefore, when assignment branch actually receives your assignment, to them you filed it in paper, so you still get charged the $40.00 fee. To get around the fee, you have to specially file the assignment directly with the assignment branch.

A provisional patent can be sold just like a non-provisional patent application or issued patent. As others have responded, the procedure is to execute an assignment document and record that document with the Assignment Branch of the USPTO. Please be aware, however, that you may have some difficulty finding a buyer for a provisional patent application , or commanding a reasonable price. A provisional patent application is a placeholder application. It does not mature into an issued patent unless a non-provisional patent application is later filed, and that non-provisional patent application is eventually granted. So there is a long road to an actual patent right, upon which you may run into obstacles. The uncertainty created by this will likely depress your value.