Invention licensing

Only the actual inventor may apply for a patent (utility, design, or plant patent). Once a patent has been obtained, the patent can be sold or mortgaged. Also, the owner of a patent may assign part or all interest in the patent to another individual or a company or other business entity. The owner of a patent may also grant licenses to others (either individuals or business entities) to make, use or sell the invention. 

It is a term referring to a non-exclusive royalty-fee license given to a employer where an employee uses the employment s time and/or equipment to develop an invention. Shop-rights come into play when there is no assignment agreement. 

The citation of trade names and/or names of manufacturers in this publication is not to be construed as an endorsement or as approval by ACS of the commercial products or services referenced herein nor should the mere reference herein to any drawing, specification, chemical process, or other data be regarded as a license or as a conveyance of any right or permission to the holder, reader, or any other person or corporation, to manufacture, reproduce, use, or sell any patented invention or copyrighted work that may in any way be related thereto. Registered names, trademarks, etc., used in this publication, even without specific indication thereof, are not to be considered unprotected by law. 

The Federal Circuit then briefly summarized the utility requirement. To have utility, inventions must have "substantial utility" and "specific benefit existing in currently available form [6]." The utility requirement "prevents mere ideas from being patented" and also "prevents the patenting of a mere research proposal. .. [6]." Quoting a famous Supreme Court patent case, the court emphasized that "a patent is not a hunting license. It is not a reward for search, but compensation for its successful conclusion [7]."... 

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