What is the difference between inventorship and ownership under Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(f)?
What is the difference between inventorship and ownership under Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(f)?
Under Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(f), there is an important distinction between inventorship and ownership:
- Inventorship refers to the person or persons who actually conceived the invention.
- Ownership refers to the legal rights to the invention, which may be assigned or transferred.
The MPEP states: “Inventorship is generally ‘by another’ where there are joint inventors or where the inventive entity of an application is different from the inventive entity of the prior art reference.” This means that inventorship is determined by who contributed to the conception of the invention, while ownership can be transferred through legal agreements.
It’s crucial to understand this difference because Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(f) is concerned with the proper inventorship of a patent application, not its ownership.
To learn more:
Topics:
MPEP 2100 - Patentability,
MPEP 2137 - Pre - Aia 35 U.S.C. 102(F),
Patent Law,
Patent Procedure