The 2023 Patent Law stipulates what issues should be paid attention to when using jointly owned patents

If the co-owners have an agreement on the exercise of rights, the agreement shall prevail. If there is no agreement, the co-owners can implement the patent alone or license others to implement the patent in the form of a general license; if the patent is licensed to others, the royalties collected shall be distributed among the co-owners. Regarding the patent law, what issues should be paid attention to when using jointly owned patents? The editor of Legal Savior Network will give you a detailed answer below.

1. The Patent Law stipulates what issues should be paid attention to when using jointly owned patents

1. Things to note when using a jointly owned patent are as follows:

(1) If the co-owners have an agreement on the exercise of rights, the agreement shall prevail;

(2) If there is no agreement, the co-owner can independently implement the patent or license others to implement the patent with a general license;

(3) If others are permitted to exploit the patent, the royalties collected shall be distributed among the co-owners.

(4) Except for the above-mentioned circumstances, the exercise of jointly owned patent application rights or patent rights must obtain the consent of all co-owners.

2. Legal basis: "Patent Law of the People's Republic of China"

Article 14 If the co-owners of the patent application right or the patent right have an agreement on the exercise of the right, the agreement shall prevail. If there is no agreement, the co-owners can implement the patent alone or license others to implement the patent in the form of a general license; if the patent is licensed to others, the royalties collected shall be distributed among the co-owners.

Except for the circumstances specified in the preceding paragraph, the exercise of a jointly owned patent application right or patent right shall require the consent of all co-owners.

2. What are the situations in which patent rights are shared

In practice, shared patent rights generally arise due to one of the following circumstances:

1. Two or more peopleWhen an invention is completed together, the co-inventors become co-patentees.

2. Two or more units cooperate in research, jointly complete an invention and creation, and become joint patentees.

3. The person (or unit) providing research funds and the inventor jointly become the patentee.

4. Two or more applicants file patent applications for the same invention and creation on the same day, and after consultation, it is determined that two or more units or individuals will jointly apply for the patent, and become a co-owner of the patent rights.

5. After the death of a patentee, two or more persons who are entitled to inherit the patent will jointly inherit the patentee and become joint patentees.

6. For inventions and creations made by an organization and one or more individuals under a technology development contract, according to the agreement between the two parties on the ownership of technological achievements, after applying for a patent, the patent rights Shared between units and individuals.

To sum up, there are three main forms of shared patent rights, namely, based on contract, based on negotiation, and based on actual cooperative relationship. In addition, others are generated through inheritance, transfer, etc.

According to the provisions of the Patent Law, if the co-owners have an agreement on the exercise of rights, the agreement shall prevail. If there is no agreement, the co-owners can implement the patent alone or license others to implement the patent in the form of a general license; if the patent is licensed to others, the royalties collected shall be distributed among the co-owners. I hope the above content can be helpful to you. If you have other questions, you can click the button below for consultation, or go to the Legal Savior website to consult a professional lawyer.