Who owns the rights to a patent?
By default, the inventor owns a patent application unless the rights have been assigned to another entity (person(s), company or companies.)
When you’re looking at a published application or an issued patent, you’ll find the owner of the patent listed as the “assignee” of a patent. If there are no listed assignees, then the owner is the inventor or inventors.
We have answered some of the top patent questions below, hopefully this provides some clarity.
What if an employee or contractor invented something for your company?
Businesses can own rights to a patent invented by an employee or contractor if the employee assigned the rights of the patent to the company. However, this is not automatic. If you own a business and people have been developing new technology, you should make sure that your employment agreements explicitly states that employees will assign patent and intellectual property ownership to the company. In addition, make sure to have the inventor or inventors assign their patent rights to the business or entity of your choice as soon as a disclosure is made. After employees have left the company, it becomes extremely difficult to get them to sign an assignment of rights. Always make sure to record your assignment of rights with the USPTO once the assignment agreement is executed.
Mistakes Businesses should avoid when employees develop intellectual property.
As soon as a business identifies an invention disclosure worth patenting, the business needs to make sure that the inventor signs an assignment of rights. Often times, employees will leave a company before having the assignment rights making it very difficult getting them.
Who Can Sell and License the patent or bring a patent infringement claim?
If more than one person or entity owns a patent, all the joint owners must work together to sell, license or bring a patent infringement claim.
Interested in learning more about how to secure your intellectual property?
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Innovent Law helps innovators protect, maintain and defend patent, trademark, copyright, and other intellectual property rights in the United States and around the world.