Can IP be owned jointly?

An agreement may provide that intellectual property will be owned jointly by the parties, regardless of whether they were joint authors, joint inventors or joint creators. The parties may contribute jointly to the creation of the intellectual property and so are joint authors, joint inventors or joint creators.

What is a joint ownership agreement?

A joint ownership agreement enables owners of property to describe how they will purchase, finance, maintain, and potentially sell it. It is similar to many other types of contracts in that it defines the rights and responsibilities of each party.

What is intellectual property joint ownership?

The jointly owned IPR may be defined “as two or more parties having shared ownership and control of the very same intellectual property rights.” This essentially means that all the decisions in relation to the disposal of IPR have to be made by parties involved together, and, by extension, such disposal or exploitation …

Can ownership of intellectual property be shared?

As with other forms of property, patents may be jointly owned by multiple parties. This can arise in a number of typical circumstances including when an invention has multiple inventors, or where parties are working together to develop technologies and may be co-assignees of resultant patents.

How does shared intellectual property work?

A joint owner has the right to an equal undivided share in the IP and the right to exploit the IP for its own benefit without accounting to the other joint owners. However, a joint owner cannot grant a licence or assign its interest in the IP without the consent of the other owners.

What rights do joint owners of a patent have?

Patent law gives co-owners of a patent the right to make, use, license, sell and import the patented invention within the United States in whatever way they please, without the consent of the other co-owners. Joint ownership of a patent occurs simply by applying for a patent with other people.

What are the three types of joint ownership?

There are three major forms of joint property ownership (or “concurrent ownership”) — tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entirety.

What is the difference between joint ownership and co-ownership?

Joint owners have rights that are defined by the type of ownership method chosen. The term “co-owner” implies that more than one person has an ownership percentage of the property. Joint ownership, in its three common forms, refines and defines the rights of the co-owners.

Can copyright be owned by two people?

Under Indian law, joint owners of a copyright cannot exploit the copyright singly or individually; they can only do so jointly. No joint owner can assign, transfer, license or sub-license or in any other manner use the copyright without the concurrence of the other joint owners.

Who owns intellectual property in a partnership?

Default (Background) Intellectual Property Ownership Ownership of intellectual property can be owned by one entity, typically the creator, in the form of Sole Ownership. One or more creators can also own ownership of intellectual property through Joint Ownership.

Who owns IP if no agreement?

Even without an agreement or a contract in place, ownership of certain intellectual property rights can be determined by common law precedent. Ownership of intellectual property can be owned by one entity, typically the creator, in the form of Sole Ownership.

Why it is wise to avoid joint ownership?

Each joint owner can independently sell, license, or otherwise exploit the patent without the approval of the other and without having to account to each other for their revenues. Without the cooperation of all owners, none can grant an exclusive license to a third party and so this valuable right is compromised.