"Increasingly it is common that intellectual property is identified and valued as an intangible asset on company balance sheets"
The importance of identifying the inventor or inventors of a new technology stems from the fact that it is from this person or people that the right to file a patent application is derived. Thus the concept of "inventorship" for patent purposes is distinct from the concept of "ownership". Whilst inventors can be owners of the patents relating to the invented technology, at least due to the significant financial burden associated with seeking effective patent protection, and employer/employee relationships, it is common that the inventors of a technology are not its owners. Although the concept of "inventorship" is not one which is statutorily defined, nor in fact the subject of much discussion in legal texts, identifying the true and correct inventors of a technology is critical in ensuring that the patentee is legally entitled to the technology...
