What rights does an inventor have in a patent?
Inventors own their patent rights until they transfer (assign) them to someone else. However, employers may require employee inventors to assign their patents. Who owns a patent when there are multiple inventors? Each inventor is a part owner. Unless the inventors have otherwise agreed, each is free to use the invention without interference from the others. Therefore, each inventor can make, use, sell, license, or assign the invention independently. Therefore, if an employer wants complete control over an invention, the employer should arrange for all employees who have worked on an invention to assign their rights to the employer. How does an employer gain ownership of employees’ inventions? No law requires an employee to assign an invention to an employer. However, employers can ensure their ownership through several types of agreement. In an invention-assignment agreement, a company requires an employee to sign over all work-related inventions. (Several states prohibit employers fro
