Employee Inventions

Rules of Conduct for Employers and Employed Inventors

The German Employee Invention Act governs the rights of employed inventors on the one hand and the rights
of their employers on the other hand in Germany. In many instances, legal obligations are overlooked on either
side and this may result in disputes between the parties, which often occur many years later.

Even though a "Board of Arbitration" has been established at the German Patent Office for the settlement of such
problems before the matter is brought to a court of law, the parties involved often seek the advice of knowledgeable
patent attorneys who, through their considerable experience with such industrial disputes, are held in sufficient regard
by the parties that they are requested to submit proposals for an amicable settlement. In such cases, the patent attorney
is not only deemed qualified to perform the function of an "expert," but he can also represent one of the parties versus
the other party in the settlement procedure out of court, in the arbitration proceeding at the Patent Office or before
courts of law (there in cooperation with an attorney-at-law).

Germany amended the Employee Inventors Act recently in order to facilitate the work of the practitioners in this field.

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