Joint applicants

(1) Where two or more persons apply jointly for a patent, they shall, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, have equal undivided shares in the application and none of them shall deal with the application in any way without the consent of the other. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (1), if any step is required to be taken to save the application from being abandoned, any applicant may, on his own behalf and on behalf of any other joint applicant, take such step without recourse to the other applicant or applicants.