Nov 4, 2009
Who owns a U.S. patent?
An inventor owns all rights granted by a patent (including the rights to make, use and sell the claimed invention), unless that inventor has expressly (e.g. via an employment agreement) or impliedly (e.g. employee was specifically hired to invent) obligated any of those rights to another.
Joint inventors own equal rights and can do what they want with the rights without accounting to or requiring the consent of one another.
By signing an assignment agreement, an inventor typically transfers all personal property rights provided by a patent, or an undivided fraction of all the rights (e.g. a 50% interest), for example to an employer or other entity. Transfer of lesser rights in a patent (e.g. a non-exclusive or exclusive right to make, use and/or sell the claimed invention) may be accomplished through a license agreement.
