Who Is The Inventor?

• Author: Joseph P. Kennedy/Wayne H. Watkins/Elyse N. Ball (With)
• Profession: Distinguished Professor of Polymer Science and Chemistry at The University of Akron/Associate Vice President for Research at The University of Akron/Project Manager for the University of Akron Research Foundation
• Pages: 91-95

CHAPTER 9

WHO IS THE INVENTOR?

While working toward their degrees, many young researchers slave away on

experiments just to see their names mentioned in the acknowledgments (or

not at all) by their professor, who publishes a journal article on their work.

In the world of publications, it seems not to matter much who originated the

idea for the experiment or who sharpened that idea into a fundamentally new

hypothesis. In U.S. Patent Law, however, this situation is reversed; it matters

greatly who the inventor is—that is, who conceived the original idea for the

invention. A patent application must contain the inventor’s name, and a patent

can be invalidated if all inventors are not identified.

As with other parts of Patent Law, the basis for issuing patents to inven-

tors comes from the Constitution, which mandates that the exclusive rights

granted by Copyright and Patent Law are given to “authors and inventors.”

Furthermore, Section 101 of the Patent Law states that

Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine,

manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improve-

ment thereof, may obtain a patent therefor ....

Thus, Patent Law is predicated on the idea that inventors are the only ones

allowed to patent their inventions.The patent belongs to the inventor, although

How to Invent and Protect Your Invention: A Guide to Patents for Scientists and Engineers,

First Edition. Joseph P. Kennedy and Wayne H. Watkins with Elyse N. Ball.

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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