EmployeeInvention
Germany is one of the few countries in which the rights and duties of employee inventors are governed by law. The Law on Employee Inventions is binding in this regard. Particular emphasis should be directed to the employee's obligation to disclose or at least notify the employer of inventions made by him, and the employee's right to receive compensation from the employer for inventions made in the course of his employment. The Law on Employees' Inventions governs the rights and obligations of the employee and the employer.
Essential obligations of the employee
- Disclosing inventions made in the course of his employment
- Notifying and offering free inventions
- Non-disclosure to third parties
- Support for the employer in the patent application and examination proceedings
Essential obligations of the employer
- Remuneration of the employee-inventor
- Domestic application for an industrial property right
- Informing the employee
- Confidentiality towards third parties
- Obligation to offer in the event of non-filing or abandonment of an industrial property right
Essential rights of the employee
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Right to remuneration as an inventor
- Right to be informed about the intellectual property rights of the invention
- Right to be informed about the commercial exploitation of the invention (according to the German Civil Code BGB)
Essential rights of the employer
- Right to file an empoyee's invention made in the course of an employment in Germany and abroad
- Right to use a free invention of an employee
- Right to abandon IP rights
Remuneration guidelines
The calculation of the remuneration is based on the Guidelines for the Remuneration of Employee Inventions in Private Employment (special regulations apply to civil servants, university employees and soldiers). In the event of a dispute, the Arbitration Board for Employee Inventions at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) shall be contacted first. The patent courts shall be responsible for legal disputes. The labour courts shall be responsible for disputes concerning the payment of a fixed or determined remuneration.