SUPREME COURT RULES THAT INVENTORS INITIALLY OWN THEIR PATENTS, NOT THEIR EMPLOYERS

Bayh-Dole Act Did Not Change This Long-Standing Principle – Stanford University Loses Argument That It Owned Collaborative Faculty Invention

Employers Should Be Careful To Avoid Conflicting Assignment Rights When Employees Work in Collaborative Ventures or Research

June 7, 2011

Under long standing principles of U.S. patent laws going back to the 1790’s, patents are initially awarded to inventors, and not to their employers.   It is and has been customary for employers to obtain assignments (and “agreements to assign”) of

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