What is one of the specific conditions under which joint research agreements can allow for non-commonly owned applications to be treated as commonly owned under 102(c)?

Joint research agreements provide a framework for multiple parties to collaborate on research and development while also addressing ownership rights of the inventions resulting from their collaboration. Under patent law, specifically Section 102(c) of the Patent Act, inventions made under these agreements can potentially be treated as commonly owned, allowing for certain advantages like the ability to file a patent application without concerns over novelty or prior art objections between the collaborators.

The correct answer pertains to the requirement that the subject matter must have been created by multiple parties involved in the joint research agreement. This condition is crucial because it underscores the collaborative nature of joint research. If an invention is developed as part of a joint research initiative, the contributions of all parties are integral to the resulting invention's characterization. This allows for the patent application to treat the invention as commonly owned, ensuring that the rights to the invention are streamlined among the parties covered by the agreement.

In contrast, if the agreement is established after the effective filing date, pertains to unrelated inventions, or if the agreement does not need to be disclosed, it would not support the premise that an invention could qualify as commonly owned under Section 102(c). Each of these factors does not directly relate to the collaborative creation aspect necessary to fulfill the criteria for common ownership in the