Who owns inventions of outside contractors?

Companies sometimes hire outside contractors to help work on research or development projects. If a contractor invents something, then ownership of the invention may be a complicated question. Under ideal conditions, all inventors concerned will have signed an assignment agreement.

What are "shop rights"?

Shop rights are a company's right to use technology whose development it supported. This is not the same as an assignment; it simply gives an employer who provided funding or work time for the project nonexclusive royalty-free rights to use a technology. Shop rights are personal to the employer, and may not be assigned or transferred. In order to best assure that an employer will have shop rights, an employer should inventory patents granted to its employees and evaluate records to determine what company time and resources were used in their creation.

What happens if different inventors work for different companies?

Companies commonly collaborate on inventions. Each company might end up being a part owner of the patent. Each company would be free to use or license the invention without being accountable to the other companies. Before collaborating with other companies, businesses should execute a written agreement setting forth each company's rights to the invention.