United States

A patent is treated as property in the US, and thus can be sold or licensed by the owner. Although an inventor is the owner in the first instance, patented inventions developed in corporate, university and governmental institutions typically end up owned by those institutions. For corporations and u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Managing Intellectual Property 2002-01, p.65
Main Authors: Isacson, John P, Czaban, James N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
FDA approval
Generic drugs
Inventors
Legislation
Pharmaceutical industry
Pharmaceuticals
Product development
Regulation
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Summary:A patent is treated as property in the US, and thus can be sold or licensed by the owner. Although an inventor is the owner in the first instance, patented inventions developed in corporate, university and governmental institutions typically end up owned by those institutions. For corporations and universities, this transfer of ownership is compelled by employment agreements, which are a form of contract. For governmental inventions, transfer of ownership is governed by statute and/or executive order. In joint development situations between institutions, ownership is governed by underlying research and development agreements, which also are a form of contract. Typically, these contracts contain provisions that require inventors to assign all of their rights to the institution, and those provisions are enforceable in court. After a transfer of ownership, the only rights retained by inventors are those set forth in the agreement. Often inventors will be given a percentage of royalties.
ISSN:0960-5002