Patent Law FAQ

While joint inventors don’t need to work together physically or simultaneously, there must be some level of collaboration or connection. The MPEP cites the case Kimberly-Clark Corp. v. Procter & Gamble Distrib. Co., which states:

“For persons to be joint inventors under Section 116, there must be some element of joint behavior, such as collaboration or working under common direction, one inventor seeing a relevant report and building upon it or hearing another’s suggestion at a meeting.”

This indicates that complete isolation or unawareness of each other’s work is not sufficient for joint inventorship. Some form of collaborative effort or shared knowledge is necessary.

To learn more:

• collaboration
• joint inventorship
• patent law
• invention process