Is a supervisor automatically an inventor if a student invention is patented?
A university does not make the rules for who is an inventor. This is different to deciding who is an author on a paper. The definition of who is an inventor is set by patent law and is outside the remit of the University. The inventor(s) must have contributed an inventive step to the invention. Task setting or supervision in itself is not enough to be an inventor. However it is not unusual for a supervisor to be a co-inventor on a patent. Well kept notes of meetings and properly kept bound laboratory note books can be very useful in determining disputed inventorship.
Related Questions
- How closely do the faculty members work with individual students? Does a doctoral student work with a faculty supervisor from the outset, or is one assigned later by the school?
- Does the inventor have the same rights over his or her invention under a "patent pending" status?
- Is a supervisor automatically an inventor if a student invention is patented?