The answer is usually decided on the basis of written laboratory records. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office carefully consider witnessed records in cases where two or more parties claim the same invention or copyrightable product. The date the idea occurred, called conception, and the date the idea was put into practice, called reduction to practice, are vitally important. Interference hearings are used to determine who was the first to invent. Also important to the federal offices when deciding disputes between two or more parties who claim the same invention is the diligence shown by an inventor.
Diligence refers to the work that was performed between conception and reduction to practice.
It is usually necessary to reveal the details of intellectual property to a potential licensee. To protect one's rights, any discussion or disclosure should be done only after the potential licensee has signed a confidential disclosure agreement. Companies are very familiar with confidential disclosure agreements and sign them routinely. Occasionally, an individual or a company may refuse to sign a confidential disclosure agreement. The legal definition of an inventor is an individual who contributes to the inventive concept claimed in a patent application.