Meaning
A German federal statute regulates the rights and duties regarding inventions made by employees during their employment relationship. The arbeitnehmererfindergesetz establishes the legal process for determining whether an invention belongs to the employer or the employee and specifies the calculation of fair compensation. It governs all private sector and public sector employees, including university researchers, who create patentable or protectable technical designs.
Employee Compensation
An employee who makes an invention must notify the employer in writing without delay. This notification must describe the technical problem, its solution and the circumstances that led to the creation of the invention. If the employer claims the invention, the employee is entitled to reasonable financial compensation.
The amount of compensation depends on the economic value of the invention, the position of the employee within the company and the contribution of the company to the invention’s development.
Invention Release
The employer can release the invention by choosing not to claim it within a specified statutory period of four months. Once released, the invention remains the sole property of the employee, who can then file patents in their own name and exploit the technology independently. If the employer fails to reject the invention in writing within the four-month window, the invention is deemed claimed, and all rights transfer to the employer.
This mechanism prevents employers from sitting on valuable ideas without compensating their creators.
Employer Claim
The employer must decide whether to pursue domestic and international patent protection. If the employer decides not to file a patent application in a particular country, they must offer that right to the employee. This obligation ensures that promising technological developments are not discarded due to a company’s shifting commercial focus.
