Can an inventor and a company share patent rights?

Patent rights can certainly be shared between a company and an inventor. In fact, patent rights can be shared by any combination of people and/or entities you can imagine. I’ve attempted to answer

Who initially owns patent rights?

Under United States patent law, the inventor (or inventors) of a patent own the patent rights unless and until they assign the patent to another person or entity. This means that in the absence of a transfer of rights, the inventor/inventors are the sole owner of the patent rights.

How are patent rights transferred?

Patent rights can only be transferred through a written document. In other words, an oral agreement will not transfer any rights. This requirement means that it is critical to create written agreements for all transfers of patent rights.

How can an inventor transfer some rights to a company?

A patent owner (including an inventor) can transfer some or all of the rights that come with a patent. A patent creates a number of rights, and you can transfer some or all of them via a license or assignment of rights. You also can create a contract that is separate from a patent transfer that entitles someone else to a portion of any revenue created through an invention.

Are there risks of joint ownership?

One issue to consider is that having multiple owners of a patent creates a number of potential risks. One of the rights that comes with a patent is the right to prevent other people from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or import the invention. If a patent is owned by multiple parties, ANY of the owners can provide a license to a third party that provides this right. In other words, a single owner could grant rights to a third party to make, use, sell, offer to sell, or import the invention.

Before you decide how patent rights will be owned and before agreeing to any transfers, you should consult with an intellectual property lawyer who can help you create an overall intellectual property plan. If you’re interested in learning how to create an intellectual property plan, you can contact our IP lawyers in Vietnam for advice via email ant@antlawyers.vn or call our office at (+84) 24 32 23 27 71

Source: Quora