Law - Inventor(s)

If (and only if) a U.S. national patent application will rely on a PCT application to establish priority of invention, care must be taken in identifying the actual inventor or inventors, as only the inventor or inventors may sign the oath or declaration and obtain a U.S. patent. Each person who actually conceived (thought of) claimed subject matter must be listed as one of the inventors. The degree of contribution to claimed subject matter is irrelevant, but it must constitute real invention, not merely "a pair of hands." The inventors need not have physically worked together, or at the same time, or made the same type or amount of contribution, or each contribute to all claimed subject matter. Information in the following sections of the PCT Applicant's Guide (PCTAG) is applicable to this task:

PCTAG Vol. I/A ¶ 57 - Who may file an international application?
PCTAG Vol. I/A ¶ 58
PCTAG Vol. I/A ¶ 69 - Which of several applicants should be named first?
PCTAG Vol. I/A ¶ 70 - When and how must the inventor be identified?
PCTAG Vol. I/A ¶ 71

Information in the following MPEP sections is not directly applicable to this task. However, since PCT rules are somewhat similar in concept to U.S. rules, it is included for general reference only.

MPEP 605 - Applicant
MPEP 605.07 - Joint Inventors
MPEP 2138.04 - "Conception"