At Lunch & Law on 5 October 2021, Dr Claudia Marti and Roy Levy highlighted the legal challenges surrounding employee inventions and showed how employers can effectively secure their intellectual property rights.
Rights to inventions in employment relationships
Inventions and designs created by employees in the course of their work generally belong to the employer (Art. 332 OR). The decisive factor is whether the invention was made in fulfilment of contractual obligations or was created freely. Only in the latter case does the right remain with the employee.
The employer is also entitled to the copyright in computer programmes if these are created in the course of employment (Art. 17 URG).
Clear contractual provisions are essential
To prevent disputes, employers should specify the following in the employment contract:
- who is entitled to the rights to inventions and designs,
- how incidental inventions are to be handled,
- and what compensation the employee will receive.
It is also advisable to agree on confidentiality and non-competition clauses and to precisely define the scope of the employee’s activities.
Conclusion
Employee inventions harbour considerable legal and economic potential – provided that responsibilities are clearly defined. Employers should regularly review their contracts and adapt them to technical and legal developments.
The presentation to the event can be viewed here.
