Legal Expertise
Most patent applications are based on inventions made by employees. In Germany, the right in and to an employee's invention can be transferred to the employer.
In return, the employee – unlike in many other countries – is granted a claim to appropriate remuneration. This is regulated by the German Employee Inventions Act.
Our attorneys provide comprehensive advice on all aspects of employee invention law, particularly in the following areas:
Particularly in the case of employee inventions, special cases are frequent, which also raise adjacent legal questions. Our experts have the necessary expertise to evaluate even complex special situations with confidence, be it questions concerning inventions by members of chief executive bodies such as managing directors and board members or the treatment of intellectual property rights in research and development cooperations. We also advise you on the handling of employee inventions in special constellations under corporate law, such as company takeovers, transfer, of business and insolvency.
Even outside of employee inventions, disputes may arise as to who is entitled to the right to the invention. Our attorneys also advise on patent vindication, i.e., the surrender of unauthorized patents (unauthorized patent filing).
We have many years of experience in various industrial patent departments and support you in the practical implementation of the legal requirements - from the notification of an invention and the claiming of property rights to the filing and abandonment in Germany and abroad.
The generation and application of remuneration concepts are a challenging subject matter for companies. Since our firm has extensive experience in all relevant technology sectors, we are very familiar with remuneration concepts and can determine the inventor's value on an objective and technical basis.
In the event of an unlawful application of a patent by unauthorized persons, we enforce the surrender of patents and patent applications with the help of a patent vindication action. In this context, we also take the necessary urgent protective measures by means of a court order for sequestration (seizure and supervision) and we also act as sequestrators ourselves.
We represent our clients in out-of-court disputes, before the Employee invention remuneration Arbitration Board at the German Patent and Trademark Office and before the competent civil courts. Mediation and arbitration proceedings are also common, and we regularly provide successful assistance.
