Employee Invention  
  In Germany the disposal of inventions made by employees is regulated by the Employee Invention Act. Said act exactly defines as to when and how the employer gains rights to an employee invention and, at the same time, to possibly resulting patent rights, and as to which legal claims for remuneration result therefrom as a consequence for the employee inventor.

If the decided legal regulations on the notification of and the claim to an employee invention are not observed, there is a risk that the right to an invention and to a patent applied for by the employer is not assigned to the employer, but continues to be due to the employee. If, in connection with such an alleged right to an invention, the employer has already invested a great deal of money in domestic and foreign patent applications and technical developments, considerable losses may be incurred, if the employee successfully enforces his right to the invention and patents resulting therefrom against the employer.

We give advice to you as an employer as far as the correct handling of inventions made by your employees and the correct claiming thereof is concerned. It is likewise a part of our services to counsel you in the field of inventions' notifications in correspondence with the legal regulations. A well organized policy relating to the notification of inventions and internal proposals is, by the way, an innovation source of a company that should not be underestimated.

Of course, we also counsel employees who make employee inventions.