How does the inventorship of an international application entering the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 get determined?
The inventorship of an international application entering the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 is determined according to 37 CFR 1.41(e), which states:
The inventorship of an international application entering the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 is the inventor or joint inventors set forth in the application data sheet in accordance with § 1.76 filed with the initial submission under 35 U.S.C. 371.
This means that applicants can change inventorship as to the U.S. at the time of national stage entry by simply filing an application data sheet naming the inventor or joint inventors with the initial submission under 35 U.S.C. 371.
If no application data sheet is provided, the inventorship is the inventor or joint inventors set forth in the international application, including any changes made under PCT Rule 92bis. It’s important to note that 37 CFR 1.41(e) does not allow naming inventors via the inventor’s oath or declaration if an application data sheet is not provided.
To learn more: