Historically, the United Kingdom has been a jurisdiction where, in relative terms, the law is more favourable to employers than to employees. This is certainly the case in comparison with some mainland European jurisdictions. In respect of ownership of employee inventions, the law is well...

The employee invention scheme in Japan, which was initially modeled after the German system, was again revised in 2015, and the new scheme took effect on April 1, 2016. I would first like to summarize the changes made, and then put these changes into the perspective of events since the Patent...

In Australia, the entitlement of an employer to a patentable invention made by its employee is governed by the common law and equity. There is no statute which dictates the rules which apply, although the impact of the Corporations Act 2001 is discussed below in relation to fiduciary duties. The...

Executive Summary: • In France, and by virtue of the French Intellectual Property Code, employees' inventions are in most cases the property of the employer; • In return, employee inventors must be paid financial compensation by the employer; • In order to prevent legal disputes with...

This paper studies the effects of the USPTO's patent secrecy program in World War II, under which over 11,000 U.S. patent applications were issued secrecy orders which halted examination and prohibited inventors from disclosing their inventions or filing in foreign countries. Secrecy orders were...

Universities, regions, and governments all over the world have become interested in university technology transfer because transferring the knowledge from basic research to industry is seen to be a key to developing an innovation economy. While to the outsider it may seem easy – “just find...

This article examines the leeway the TRIPS Agreement grants to WTO Members to define their own standard of patentability in the field of pharmaceutical inventions. To this end, the contribution adopts an anecdotal approach: instead of abstractly analyzing the boundaries set by Article 27 TRIPS,...

This Essay identifies a new boundary in patent law: invention creation activity and explores the possible challenges and opportunities it may facilitate. The boundary currently is neither robust nor extensive, and whether and under what circumstances it should exist at all is open to debate