Basics of the right to employee inventions
Employee invention law regulates the most common origin of inventions, namely the invention by an employee in the course of his work in the company or on the basis of his experience and work carried out in the company.
Procedure and formalities for employee inventions in the company
The process from the notification of the invention by the employee to the employer to the remuneration of the invention by the employer to the employee for the use made is regulated in employee invention law. However, implementation in practice requires a number of formalities within the company in order to comply with these regulations and avoid any claims for damages between employee and employer. Companies often develop a formal procedure for this as soon as employee invention disclosures are no longer an isolated case.
Remuneration of employee inventions in practice
A key aspect of employee invention law for both parties is the remuneration for the use of the invention, particularly in the case of employees who have left the company. This is only regulated in principle in employee invention law and is determined by the remuneration regulations and the empirical values of the appropriate remuneration rates, which vary greatly depending on the industry, i.e. the technology of the invention, and are also subject to change over time due to case law and developments in the economy.