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CS Professional · Intellectual Property Rights - Law and Practice · Indian Patent Law and its Developments

Anita and Bhaskar are registered joint grantees of an Indian patent, with no agreement between them on the subject. Bhaskar, without telling Anita, grants a licence under the patent to Cobalt Industries Pvt Ltd. Under the Patents Act, 1970, what is the position?

The licence cannot validly be granted by Bhaskar alone. Where there is no contrary agreement, a licence under a jointly held patent, or an assignment of a share, requires the consent of the other registered proprietors. Each co-owner may work the invention personally without accounting, but licensing needs consent.

  1. AThe licence is valid because each co-owner holds an equal share and may license freely
  2. BThe licence is valid if Bhaskar accounts to Anita for half the royalty
  3. CThe licence is invalid unless Anita's consent is obtained, since a licence cannot be granted by one co-owner without the consent of the othersCorrect
  4. DThe licence is valid only if Cobalt Industries is an Indian company

Explanation

Section 50(3) provides that, subject to any agreement, where two or more persons are registered as proprietors, a licence shall not be granted and a share shall not be assigned by one of them except with the consent of the other(s). Option A confuses this with section 50(2), which lets each co-owner work the invention for his own benefit without accounting, not license it.

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