Patent co-ownership

From joint research contracts to inventions made with the participation of a non-employee, from consortium agreements to claim actions, there are numerous cases of co-ownership of a patent.

This situation is taken into account by the law, which sets out a specific regime for co-ownership of patents. This regime, which sets out the rights and obligations of each co-owner in a sometimes complex manner, is mandatory but suppletive: in other words, it applies whenever the co-owners have not laid down any rules. However, it is possible to derogate from this legal regime by drawing up a co-ownership bylaw.

The purpose of this fact sheet is to outline the legal system of co-ownership in patent matters, the rights and obligations arising therefrom, and the procedures for drawing up co-ownership regulations.