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An employee or contractor made the invention. Who owns it?
Ownership, inventorship and the paperwork that decides both.
Pre-incorporation work needs a specific assignment.
Anything invented before the company existed belongs to the individuals until it is assigned in.
- Get a written assignment expressly covering the pre-incorporation period.
- Record it with the Patent Office.
- Do this before a funding round, not during one.
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This is educational guidance, not personalised legal advice. It cannot see your documents, your dates or the prior art, and those are usually what decide the answer. Use it to understand the question, then take advice on your own facts.
Not sure whether this applies to your invention?
The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.