§ 41-03-22 — (3-203) Rights acquired by transfer

1. An instrument is transferred when it is delivered by a person other than its issuer for
the purpose of giving to the person receiving delivery the right to enforce the
instrument.
2. Transfer of an instrument, regardless of whether the transfer is a negotiation, vests in
the transferee any right of the transferor to enforce the instrument, including any right
as a holder in due course, but the transferee cannot acquire rights of a holder in due
course by a transfer, directly or indirectly, from a holder in due course if the transferee
engaged in fraud or illegality affecting the instrument.
3. Unless otherwise agreed, if an instrument is transferred for value and the transferee
does not become a holder because of lack of endorsement by the transferor, the
transferee has a specifically enforceable right to the unqualified endorsement of the
transferor, but negotiation of the instrument does not occur until the endorsement is
made.
4. If a transferor purports to transfer less than the entire instrument, negotiation of the
instrument does not occur. The transferee obtains no rights under this chapter and has
only the rights of a partial assignee.