Unless otherwise agreed in the contract, the right to apply for a patent for a cooperatively-developed invention-creation belongs to all parties to the cooperative development. If one party transfers its patent application right, the other party or other parties may give priority to transfer its patent application right.
If one party to a cooperative development waives its right to apply for a patent, it may apply separately by the other party or jointly by other parties. After the invention-creation is granted a patent right, the party who gives up the right to apply for a patent can exploit the patent for free. If one party to the cooperative development does not agree to apply for a patent, the other party or other parties shall not apply for a patent. If it is stipulated in the contract that the right to apply for a patent for a technological achievement belongs to only one party, the economic benefits thus obtained may be compensated to the other party in accordance with the agreement.
2. Ownership and sharing of technological secret achievements
The contract shall stipulate the right to use, the right to transfer and the way to distribute the benefits of the technological secret achievements that have been jointly developed. If there is no agreement in the contract and no supplementary agreement can be reached, and it cannot be determined according to the relevant provisions of the contract or trading habits, all parties have the right to use and transfer it. Neither the other party nor other parties have the right to demand sharing of the proceeds from the use and transfer of the results by one party.