The possibility of joint ownership of the exclusive right to a trade secret (know-how) in accordance with Articles 1470 and 1471 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

the article examines the legal nature and limits of admissibility of joint ownership of the exclusive right to a trade secret (know-how) in Russian civil law. Special attention is paid to the conflict between the general rule on plurality of rightholders (Article 1229 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) and the special regulation enshrined in Article 1471 of the Civil Code. The authors analyze the imperative nature of the rule on the employer’s ownership of a service know-how and the dispositive nature of the rules for contract agreements and R&D contracts. The article discusses current law enforcement problems associated with the inability for a private investor to become a co-owner of a know-how created under his order. Based on the analysis of the doctrine and recent legislative initiatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, ways to improve civil legislation in terms of consolidating the possibility of joint ownership of trade secrets are proposed. 

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