Employees' Inventions in Germany A Handbook for International Business

The economic and international property relations between German-based research and development facilities and their employees are extensively defined under German law. Businesses with R & D resources in Germany cannot afford to be less than knowledgeable in this area, particularly concerning the provisions of Germany’s Law of Employees’ Inventions.

This practical guide for professionals and managers in patent and HR departments, both in Germany and abroad, provides a quick and reliable introduction to this important law. Among the book’s very useful features are the following:

• an expert overview on all relevant practical problems which might arise from employees’ inventions in Germany;
• diagrams which visualize how service inventions are treated from the moment that they are created to the final remuneration;
• checklists that sum up in a nutshell the guidance for making decisions regarding employees’ inventions and R & D co-operations with German universities;
• forms (like “Template for Registering Inventions”) that serve as an extensive briefing for employers and can, in principle, be used worldwide, even for expatriates;
• a synoptic bilingual presentation of the text of the Act and the Official Remuneration Guidelines; and
• a glossary of essential keywords in both English and German.

Business persons who deal with employees’ inventions and R & D in Germany will find this handbook to be of immeasurable value, both as an initial orientation and then as a constantly useful guide with answers to virtually all problems likely to arise in the course of the legal work entailed by R & D in Germany.