The Legal Status of Joint Inventions and the Extent of Ownership and Possession of the Inventors in Them

Joint invention is an invention for which a registration certificate has been jointly granted to two or more persons and the rights arising from it belong to all of them. Joint ownership in an invention can take various forms. The rights arising from a joint invention will be subject to the provisions regarding property and joint rights, including: Joint owners cannot transfer or mortgage their share without the consent of the other owners. Joint owners can use without the consent of the other joint owners, unless otherwise specified and agreed upon in the contract. Joint owners cannot issue an exclusive or non-exclusive exploitation license without the consent of the other joint owners. Also, joint owners can agree against the above procedures, meaning that joint owners can agree that the possibility of exploiting a registered joint invention belongs only to one of the joint owners. The main purpose of the research is to examine the joint invention system in light of the latest changes in the Iranian legal system, and to examine the manner and means of ensuring the rights of inventors. The research method will be descriptive-analytical using library and documentary sources. The results and achievements of the research showed that the rights arising from joint inventions will be subject to the provisions regarding property and joint rights. Also, the presentation of models for sharing property and benefits arising from joint inventions is a common practice.