Jake and Erin are joint inventors who hold a patent but have no agreement as to licensing or transferring it. May Jake transfer the patent to Toby without Erin's permission? Assume Jake receives $500,000 for the patent. Must Jake share this money with Erin, his co-inventor? Discuss.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, each joint owner of a patent may sell it (or use it or license it, etc.) without the consent and without accounting to the other owners . Thus, it is critical for parties to have an agreement. In this case, Jake will be able to retain all $500,000 without accounting to Erin for any part of it.

Jake and Erin Are Joint Inventors Who Hold a Patent