What rights do joint owners have?

Joint owners all hold the same rights as are normally granted under the copyright and patent laws to an individual owner. These rights include the right to grant licences (permissions) to use the creation or invention, the right to sell (assign) the creation or invention, and the right to stop unauthorized use. However, unlike single owners, joint owners cannot independently exercise some of these rights. For example, a joint owner cannot independently decide to sell (assign) a jointly owned IP to a third party without the consent of the other joint owner/s.

There are slightly different rules for joint ownership in copyright and in patent law.

Copyright

If you jointly own a copyright, you

1. cannot exploit the copyrighted work without the consent of other joint owner/s;
2. need to account to the other joint owners for any profits derived from the exploitation of the jointly owned copyright;
3. cannot assign your share of copyright without the consent of other joint owner/s; and
4. cannot grant an exclusive licence in the copyrighted work without the consent of other joint owner/s. 

Patents

If you jointly own a patent, you

1. can exploit the patent without the consent of other joint owner/s;
2. do not need to account to other joint owners for profits derived from the exploitation of the jointly owned patent;
3. cannot assign your share of patent right without the consent of other joint owner/s;
4. cannot grant a licence in the patent without the consent of other joint owner/s

The above position, in both copyright and patent joint ownership, can be altered through a written joint ownership agreement, if the agreement specifically lays out the scope and extent of each joint owner’s rights.