Common ownership problems for those new to patents
For those new to protecting their inventions with patents, one of the more common issues that needs to be resolved is ownership. Who owns the invention or patent? A company may believe that it owns the rights to an invention. However, a closer look at the law reveals that this may not be the case. […]
Patent Assignments for Independent Contractors
Patent rights initially vest with the person that conceives of the invention. For example, if a company hires an independent contractors, patent rights initially vest with the independent contractor. If the company hiring the independent contractor wants to exploit the invention, the company must acquire the patent rights from the independent contractor through an assignment. […]
Avoid Problems: Get an Invention Assignment Agreement
Companies owns invention rights by one of three ways from employees. A formal Invention Assignment Agreement is typically executed when the employee begins employment. The Agreement assigns certain inventions of the employee to the company. Invention rights can also be acquired by way of the Employed-to-Invent doctrine. In particular, to the extent that the employer […]