According to Article 8 of the Patent Law, unless otherwise agreed, the right to apply for a patent belongs to the invention-creation jointly completed by two or more units or individuals, or the invention-creation entrusted by other units or individuals. After the application is approved, the applicant unit or individual shall be the patentee.
Second, the three types of patentees
(1) the work unit of the inventor or designer
Paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the Patent Law stipulates that employees of enterprises, institutions, social organizations and state organs have the right to apply for a patent for their job inventions or creations made by using their own material conditions.
(2) Inventors and designers
Paragraph 2 of Article 6 of the Patent Law stipulates that the right to apply for a patent for a non-service invention-creation completed by an inventor or designer belongs to the inventor or designer. The inventor or designer mentioned in the patent law refers to a person who has made outstanding contributions to the substantive characteristics of invention-creation. In the process of completing the invention-creation, a person who is only responsible for organizing the work, providing convenience for the use of material conditions, or engaging in other auxiliary work is not regarded as an inventor or designer.
(3), * * * and the inventor and designer
According to Article 8 of the Patent Law, an invention created by two or more units or individuals is called a * * * co-invention, and the person who completed this invention is called a * * * co-inventor or a * * * co-designer. Unless otherwise agreed, the right to apply for a patent for the invention-creation belongs to the inventor. After the application is approved, the patent right belongs to * * * and the inventor.
Three, * * * and the patentee how to exercise their rights?
(a) Agreed priorities
Where there is an agreement on the right to apply for a patent or the exercise of the patent right, such agreement shall prevail. This is the embodiment of the principle of autonomy. As a kind of private property owned by each patentee, when to apply for a patent and how to dispose of it should be decided by them, not by law.
(two) the situation in which the patent right is exercised by someone alone.
1, patent right * * * someone can exploit the patent alone, and the proceeds belong to the implementer.
2. Patent * * * Some people can generally license others to exploit the patent without the consent of other * * * people, and the collected royalties are distributed among * * * people.
(three) the situation that the patent right needs to be exercised consistently.
Unless * * * someone has an agreement and * * someone can exercise it alone, the exercise of the patent right shall obtain the consent of all * * * people. If * * * someone exclusively licenses or exclusively licenses others to exploit the patent, all * * people need to agree.
To sum up, the patentee is not necessarily an individual, but also an individual or unit, organization or group enterprise. The right to apply for a patent belongs to the unit or individual that has completed or jointly completed it. This content is for reference only. The above is about how many patentees there can be. If in doubt or doubt, you can consult a lawyer.