Who should be listed as inventors?

• Inventorship is a complex legal issue which should not be taken lightly. In order to qualify as an inventor, the person must contribute to the conception of the invention in a material way. If you have any doubts, you should obtain a legal opinion from a patent attorney or agent.
• It is critical that all the true inventors and only the true inventors are listed on the patent application as inventors. If you would like to give someone an interest in the invention who is not an inventor, you may do this using an assignment agreement, not by listing them as an inventor. Listing less than all the true inventors, or listing false inventors, is one way to have the patent held to be invalid if the patent is ever litigated.
• Every individual who is associated with the filing of the patent application has a duty to act in good faith and candor before the Patent and Trademark Office. These individuals include each inventor, each attorney who prepares of prosecutes the application, and everyone else who is associated with the inventor(s), with the assignee or with anyone to whom there is an obligation to assign the patent application. If any of these individuals lie, withhold information or otherwise deceive the Patent Office in any way, that individual places any patent which might issue on that particular invention in danger of being invalidated. Each individual has a duty to tell the patent examiner about everything known of which applies or is similar to your invention.

« Back to list of Frequently Asked Questions about Patents