When you apply for a patent, it must be clear who the applicant is and who the inventor is. The applicant owns the patent application and any patent granted on that application. In principle, the inventor is entitled to the patent. Below, we explain the rights of inventors and applicants and how those rights relate to each other.
The applicant is the legal owner of the patent application. An applicant can be either an individual or a legal entity. If the application results in a granted patent, the applicant also owns that patent. You can file a patent application in the names of multiple applicants, although this is often not the preferred approach. Ownership of both patent applications and granted patents can be transferred.
As an applicant, you are responsible for the patent application or patent, but you also benefit from the associated rights. These include taking action against infringers, granting licenses, and selling the patent. Patent applications and patents are recorded on the balance sheet as intangible fixed assets.
It is essential that you can demonstrate your entitlement to the patent application or patent. You must therefore be able to explain how you acquired that entitlement. The section ‘The relationship between applicant and inventor’ explains this in more detail.
The inventor is the person who made the invention or contributed technically to it. Only an individual can be an inventor. Someone who has contributed solely financially is not an inventor on that basis.
An invention can have multiple inventors. For example, one inventor may have developed the general principle, while another developed specific components or embodiments.
Failing to name an inventor or changing inventor details later can cause problems. This is particularly relevant if you want to remove a previously named inventor. For example, a legal dispute may arise over ownership of the patent application or patent.
In principle, the right to apply for a patent belongs to the inventor or inventors. As an applicant, you can acquire this right from them through an agreement. The inventor then assigns the right to a patent for the invention to you. You may also be entitled by law to act as the applicant. Under certain conditions, this may apply when the inventor is your employee.
Inventors’ rights vary by country. In the Netherlands and Europe, inventors have the right to be named in patent publications following the filing of the application. If an inventor does not wish to be named, they must declare this in writing. Inventors have more extensive rights in certain countries, including the United States.
As an applicant, it is important to ensure that the inventor remains available and can be contacted. Their cooperation may be needed later in the patent procedure, for example to sign official documents.
This is particularly relevant in the United States. If, for example, you subsequently seek patent protection in the United States based on an initial Dutch patent application, you must explicitly demonstrate to the US patent office that you acquired the right to apply for a patent from the inventor or inventors. Inventorship must also be confirmed in a declaration. These official documents require the inventor’s signature.
An agreement between the inventor and applicant can also address continued availability and cooperation. It is therefore advisable to consider inventorship and the roles of the inventors carefully at an early stage and record the relevant arrangements in writing.
Would you like advice on the relationship between inventor and applicant? Or are you unsure whether you can demonstrate your entitlement to act as the applicant? Contact us. AOMB can help you prepare an agreement between the inventors and the applicant.
