Change of inventorship after allowance

Question

Can my employer remove my name from a patent after it is allowed (but not issued yet) and the fees are paid for?

Answer 1

Before the AIA law changing inventorship was difficult and in some cases impossible. Some changes required statements that the previous inventor listing was an "error [that] occurred without deceptive intention".

Under AIA it is very easy to change. It requires an oath or declaration of anyone being added. See the rule 37 CFR 148.

A company would not properly remove an inventor at this late stage unless they thought the listed person did not make a conceptual contribution to any allowed claim. Even then, an excess inventor is better for enforceability than an erroneously removed inventor.

Improperly, they might consider removing someone if that person was fighting the company's plans.

Answer 2

The usual arrangement with inventors working in a company is that the company owns the work product and the inventors have no ownership. Some companies like the one I last worked at provided an award at a patents issuance as an incentive. If this is the case with you, then there is little reason for the company to try to exclude you as it doesn't change their ownership of the patent to leave you in. I believe (I am not a lawyer) that excluding an actual inventor from a patent might provide grounds to invalidate the patent. Perhaps you should make your management aware of this.