Joint Inventorship Found Where Invention Prototype Not Viable Without Co-Developer Contributions

Manatt Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement Partner  and Incoming 2026 Associate Tom Feigenbaum wrote an article for Intellectual Property and Technology Law Journal discussing a Federal Circuit holding in a lawsuit that since multiple contributors provided designs to the product, which would not have been functional without them, they should be named co-inventors alongside the initial designer.

In Tube-Mac Industries, Inc. v. Campbell, Steve Campbell, the original inventor named on the patent related to a container used for transporting gaseous fluids, created prototype designs which ended up failing multiple tests due to slippage between the port boss and vessel liner. He then enlisted two workers from Tube-Mac to help improve these elements, which ended up being a success, but did not name them as co-inventors. This led to Tube-Mac suing Campbell to include the two workers as co-inventors. The court decided in favor of Tube-Mac and after an appeal, the Federal Circuit found the same, noting that the design changes from the Tube-Mac workers were significant and necessary to the functionality of the patent.

“This decision illustrates contributions that the court deems to be significant, beyond the use of ordinary skill, and probative of a possible co-inventor’s conception or design,” wrote the authors. “Additionally, this decision highlights the importance of clearly defining what contributing parties are inventors, and therefore owners, of a patent/invention.”

Read the full article .