Industrial Property Law

The provisions of the Intellectual Property Code relating to co-ownership of patents constitute a supplementary regime. They may be overridden by stipulations to the contrary between co-owners, in the form of co-ownership regulations. These can be drawn up at any time (Art. L. 613-32 IP Code). The parties to the co-ownership regulations have contractual freedom to define the terms and conditions for exploiting the patent, their respective shares in the patent and the sharing of revenues, as well as the conditions for maintaining and defending the patent, bringing infringement actions, transferring or licensing the patent, or transferring a share of ownership. On the other hand, a court cannot impose the organization of co-ownership of a patent . As Articles 1873-1 et seq. do not apply to the co-ownership of patents, the co-ownership regulations may be valid for more than five years (Art. L. 613-30 IP Code).

CA Paris, 19 February 2016, LawLex202200010452JBJ.

379. Co-ownership regulations