Question about Patents (credit, company, property, job)

[jhlcomp]

A friend of mine started a job four months ago for a start up company. She is responsible for creating the User Interface for the product they are creating. The company filed a patent and told her that her name will be on the patent.

When a company files for a patent who is the rightful owner? Does, say, the design team of a given product get credit for their contribution to the product?

Thank you.

[yellowsnow]

It could depend on the contract your friend signed when she took the job. Generally speaking, if she was paid to develop the interface, it belongs to the company. You can look up rulings on intelectual property.

[jhlcomp]

Thank you! Appreciate your time in responding.

[mhoang]

I believe it's the company's. Usually an employee's work product belongs to the company. There is a free site called www.nolo.com that has some info about intellectual property and patent law, not sure if that will help.