If you have not watched the TV Show “Shark Tank”, it is a show where small business entrepreneurs and inventors go to appear on TV to “be discovered”. This led Scott Jordan, the inventor of TEC (Technology Enabled Clothing) to appear on the show. But there was a nasty little clause in the agreement to […]
First it was Angry Birds. Then it was Candy Crush. Just recently, Flappy Birds became “THE” game to download and play. Grown adults were taking to twitter to complain about how addicting the game is and how they’d rather play the game than make dinner for their children. Children were failing homework because they’d rather […]
By: Mark Malek In my last post I discussed the different parts of a patent application. You may recall that one of the parts, the most important part, was the claims. The claims outline the scope of protection that is being sought in the patent application. After the patent application successfully passes through examination process, […]
Inventor and Fraud
If an inventor is under an obligation to assign the rights to an invention to a company, it would be fraud to try to file the application in the name of another. Engaging in such fraud can open up (and tip over) a can of worms for the inventor that may not be easily cleaned up.
Uncooperative Inventors
What happens when an inventor refuses to sign filing documents of a patent application? Remaining inventors may file the patent application without the uncooperative inventor.
How To Correct Inventorship On A Patent Application
In cases where either the wrong inventors were listed on a patent application, or if the proper inventors were omitted from the patent application, the Patent Office provides a process for correcting inventorship.
The Effect Of Listing An Improper Inventor On A Patent Application
An inventor is someone that has had some sort of input into a claim that is listed in a patent application. If an improper inventor is listed on a patent application, then the patent that may eventually issue may be invalidated. This is also the case when not all of the inventors are listed on the patent application.
It is important for a patent application to list the proper inventors. An inventor is not just someone that you want to put on a patent application, but must be someone that contributed in some way to at least one claim in the patent application.
