
Importance of “Hire-to-Invent” Contracts in the Assignment of Patent Rights
The assignment of intellectual property (“IP”) rights means a transfer of rights such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial/commercial designs and technology from an assignor to an assignee. The assignment agreements differ from the license agreements. In the latter, the licensor authorizes another (licensee) to use licensor’s IP under specific conditions in return for a fee or a royalty. Therefore, while a licensor retains ownership of the IP, an assignor loses owne