35 U.S.C. § 262
Section 262 · Joint owners
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 62 court decisions — leading case Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary v. QLT Phototherapeutics, Inc. (2009)
Most recently applied in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. v. Itc (April 2021)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
In the absence of any agreement to the contrary, each of the joint owners of a patent may make, use or sell the patented invention without the consent of and without accounting to the other owners.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendment of Section
Pub. L. 103–465, title V, §§533(b)(3), 534(a), (b)(3), Dec. 8, 1994, 108 Stat. 4989, 4990, provided that, effective on date that is one year after date on which the WTO Agreement enters into force with respect to the United States [Jan. 1, 1995], with provisions relating to earliest filed patent application, this section is amended—
(A) by striking “use or sell” and inserting “use, offer to sell, or sell”; and
(B) by inserting “within the United States, or import the patented invention into the United States,” after “invention”.
Historical and Revision Notes
This section states a condition in existing law not expressed in the existing statutes.
Effective Date of 1994 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 103–465 effective on date that is one year after date on which the WTO Agreement enters into force with respect to the United States [Jan. 1, 1995], with provisions relating to earliest filed patent application, see section 534(a), (b)(3) of Pub. L. 103–465, set out as a note under section 154 of this title.