Use inventions. Reward innovation.
Technical inventions which an employee makes and which are related to his professional activity are usually the property of the employer. In return, the employee is entitled to appropriate remuneration. If the employer has no interest in exploiting the invention he must release the invention to the employee who can then freely market his invention.
An employee invention or a job-related invention is an invention which is, in principle, protectable and which an employee has made within the scope of his job obligation. The Employee Invention Act (ArbEG) regulates which claims arise for the employee and also for the employer. According to the law, the employer is generally entitled to the rights to the job-related invention while the employee is entitled to be remunerated as compensation.
What does the employee have to do once he has made a job-related invention?
An employee who makes a technical invention must report this to their employer immediately and in text form. However, if several employees are involved in an invention, a joint notification is sufficient.
The employer must confirm receipt of the notification immediately and in text form. The employer then has four months to explain to the employee whether he will release the invention or claim it for himself or his company. If the employer does not inform the employee, the invention is automatically transferred to the employer in accordance with the Employee Inventions Act.
However, if the invention is released by the employer in due time, the invention belongs exclusively to the employee and the employee can then use the invention without restriction.
What happens to the invention if the employer does not release it, but claims it for himself, or respectively, for his company?
If the employer claims the employee invention for himself, all rights to the invention and all economic achievements are transferred to the employer. As a rule, the employer is then obliged to file a technical property right application, a patent and/or a utility model.
What claims does the employee have against the employer if the employer does not release the invention?
As compensation, however, the employee is entitled to an appropriate remuneration. Further information on the exact calculation of remuneration can be found in remuneration guidelines. The remuneration depends, among other things, on the tasks and the position of the inventor in the company, the economic exploitability of the invention and the company’s share in the creation of the technical invention.
In a case where there are several inventors, it is quite possible that the remuneration will be different for each inventor depending on his individual position in the company.
Usually, the employer is then obliged to file a technical protective right application, i.e. a patent application or a utility model application.
