Ownership

Patent ownership can be distinct from Inventorship

The inventor has the inchoate (beginning) patent rights. If the inventor applies for and has been granted a patent, then the inventor owns the patent rights.

However, the inventor can sell the patent (or patent application) and the buyer becomes the patentee who owns the patent rights.

Moreover, if the inventor has been hired to solve a problem and came up with the invention, then the patent rights for the invention normally belong to the employer.