What rights do joint owners of a patent have?

Joint owners of a patent have specific rights as outlined in 35 U.S.C. 262, which states:

‘In the absence of any agreement to the contrary, each of the joint owners of a patent may make, use, offer to sell, or sell the patented invention within the United States, or import the patented invention into the United States, without the consent of and without accounting to the other owners.’

This means that each joint owner can independently exercise the full rights of the patent without needing permission from or owing compensation to the other joint owners, unless they have a separate agreement stating otherwise.