Patents: Entitlement
My client had spent a lifetime in textile manufacturing and lectured on the subject at a local university. When he retired he acted as a consultant for local textile manufacturers. One of those companies had won a contract to make a component for a large US manufacturer and asked my client to help its research and development team design equipment to help it meet the order.
In carrying out his instructions my client and his customer invented a machine which they decided to patent. They agreed orally that they and another consultant should own the patent jointly. However, unbeknown to my client his customer applied for the patent in its own name stating incorrectly on the application form that it had acquired all rights from my client.
My instructing patent attorney reminded the attorney acting for the customer of the oral agreement and asked them to allow the application to proceed in joint names as had been agreed, but she heard nothing more from the other side. She set a deadline but still heard nothing. As a last resort she instructed me to settle an application under s.7 (2) of the Patents Act 1977 which I did together with a supporting witness statement which I did.
That seems to have done the trick because the other side failed to answer our case.
