Recently, there are increasing number of inventions that many people participate in. And those inventions are filed in KIPO(Korea Intellectual Property Office) as in service inventions or joint inventions to be registered for patent rights. Especially...
Recently, there are increasing number of inventions that many people participate in. And those inventions are filed in KIPO(Korea Intellectual Property Office) as in service inventions or joint inventions to be registered for patent rights. Especially the joint inventors shall apply for patent jointly pursuant to korea patent law.
If not, the application should be rejected, or if registered by being overlooked, the patent right should be invalidated. Even though joint invention has novelty, non-obviousness and other patent requirements, if it is not applied jointly, it should be rejected or invalidated after registration regardless of any reason. But I can't agree with these official actions and legal treatment, because sometimes a joint inventor files a patent application solely to the exclusion of the other joint inventors by good faith or mistakes. The main reason of not applying jointly is laid on the matter that joint inventors are not easily defined and to be sought. By these reasons, joint inventor applies for atent solely by error. It's principle that joint inventors have the patent right together. Therefore the nation has the legal policy to keep this principle. But recently, rapidly changeable industrial and social conditions makes this
policy more flexible so that inventors can keep their rights about invention from invalidity. In this thesis, I'm going to discuss the legal character of joint ownership about the patentable right by inferring the patent right joint ownership.
Then, I verify the validity of invalidation of non joint application in all kinds of ways. Firstly, if non joint application is occurred in application procedure, I'll try to find out whether we can make it corrected right pursuant to patent law. Secondly, I will discuss the patent invalidation due to the fact of non joint application would be reasonable from every aspect. Therefore, Patent policy analysis, constitutional law approach, administrative law approach and the method of comparison with the other country's Patent law are discussed in this thesis. In conclusion, invalidation of non joint application about joint invention is so harsh treatment to joint inventors from the various aspect as patent policy, comparison with the other country patent law, constitutional law, and administrative law.
As the method for enhancing the joint inventers' right, I suggest that patent law be supplemented to correct applicants during the application procedure. I also suggest that patent law amended so that joint inventors could request the correction of patentee under condition of good faith application.