Is he co owner of the patent??????

Question

Hi,

I have situtation in which i had discovered on machine and i took a very important help from one of my friend regarding the machine without which machine might not work? he called me and said that he want co-ownership in the machine.

can he claim co ownership?

Answer 1

In the U.S. a patent ends with a set of CLAIMS that clearly say what the invention is.  If your friend invented something that is in the claims, then he is co-inventor and MUST be listed as such.  If you do not list all the inventors and only the inventors as inventors, then the patent could be found NOT valid.

So, it depends on how and what you claim.