Intellectual Property Act-Who can have a right to a Patent?

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Intellectual Property Act-Who can have a right to a Patent
Intellectual Property Act-Who can have a right to a Patent

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ACT

 

Who can have a right to a patent?

67. (1) Subject to the provisions of section 68 the right

to a patent shall belong to the inventor.

(2) Where two or more persons have jointly made an

invention, the right to a patent shall belong to them jointly.

(3) If and to the extent to which two or more persons

have made the same invention independently of each other,

the person whose application has the earliest filling date or,

if priority is claimed, the earliest validly claimed priority

date, shall have the right to the patent, so long as that

application is not withdrawn, abandoned or rejected.

68. Where the essential element of the invention claimed

in a patent application or patent have been unlawfully derived

from an invention for which the right to the patent belongs

to another person, such other person may apply to the Court

for an order that the said patent application or patent be

assigned to him :

Provided that where, after a patent application has been

filed, the person to whom the right to the patent belongs

gives his consent to the filing of the said patent application,

such consent shall, for all purposes, be deemed to have been

effective from the date of filing of such application :

Provided also that the Court shall not entertain an

application for the assignment of a patent after the expiry of

a period of five years from the date of grant of the patent.

 

69. (1) In the absence of any provision to the contrary

in any contract of employment or for the execution of work,

the right to a patent for an invention made in the performance

of such contract of employment or in the execution of such

work shall be deemed to accrue to the employer, or the person

who commissioned the work, as the case may be :

Provided that where the invention acquires an economic

value much greater than the parties could reasonably have

foreseen at the time of entering the contract of employment

or for the execution of work, as the case may be, the inventor

shall be entitled to equitable remuneration which may be

fixed by the Court an application made to it in that behalf,

in the absence of an agreement between the parties.

(2) Where an employee whose contract of employment

does not require him to engage in any inventive activity,

makes in the field of activities of his employer, an invention

using data or means placed at his disposal by his employer,

the right to the patent for such invention shall be deemed to

accrue to the employer, in the absence of any provision to

the contrary in the contract of employment :

Provided that the employee shall be entitled to equitable

remuneration which, in the absence of agreement between

the parties, may be fixed by the Court, taking into account

his emoluments an application made to it in that behalf the

economic value of the invention and any benefit derived

from it by the employer.

(3) The rights conferred on the inventor under

subsections (1) and (2) shall not be restricted by contract.

70. (1) The inventor shall be named as such in the

patent, unless by a declaration in writing signed by him or

on his behalf and submitted to the Director-General, he

indicates his decision to forgo his name being included in

the patent.

(2) The provisions of subsection (1) shall not be

modified by the terms of any contract.