1. What is co-ownership of a patent?

1.1 When is there co-ownership of a patent?

There are many situations that can lead to co-ownership of a patent.

In some cases, this co-ownership is established upstream: this is obviously the case when the invention is made by several inventors who decide to file a joint patent application. It is also the case in R&D projects involving multiple players whose precise aim is to develop one or more potentially patentable technologies, or in technology transfer contracts or patent licenses which stipulate that any improvements made to the invention by the licensee will belong to both parties. This is also the case...