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Alterations in the Legislation Governing Employee Inventions (ArbErfG)
On February 7th, 2002, an alteration went into effect in the legislation governing employee inventions which affects inventions in universities/colleges in particular.
According to the previous legal status of the version currently still valid, professors, assistant professors and scientific assistants at scientific colleges were so-called free-lance inventors. They had the opportunity to freely market their inventions.
As a result of the change in the legislation, professors, assistant professors and scientific assistants at scientific colleges have become more closely aligned with employed inventors. This means that inventions created by this group of persons are to be registered by the respective college. The college has the appropriation rights and as such the opportunity to register the inventions for patents/registered designs and to market them.
However, there remain a number of differences between employed inventors and college scientists; as such, an inventor employed by a college is entitled to reveal his/her invention within the framework of his/her teaching or research activity, e.g., to report about such in an article or lecture as long as he/she has punctually notified his/her employer. The law specifies the proper notice period as two months.
Should the inventor choose to refrain from revealing his/her invention on grounds of teaching or research freedom, then he/she is not obligated to report the invention to the employer. Should he/she want to reveal the invention at a later date, then he/she must notify the employer of the invention immediately.
For companies that collaborate with college instructors in research, the alteration in the law means that this collaboration is no longer possible without the consent of the college administration. An agreement must be made directly with the colleges regarding who possesses the right to register the invention for a patent and to exploit such.
These regulations apply for inventions created after February 6th, 2002.
For valid contracts in which professors, assistant professors and scientific assistants at scientific colleges have contractually transferred the rights to an invention to a third party prior to July 18th, 2001, the previous version of the law applies up to February 7th, 2003.
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Common Design Protection (EC Registered Design)
Following the Common Trademark, the countries of the European Union have created an additional instrument for mutual protection for all of the nations of the Common Market with the new Common Design Protection. A difference will be made between non-registered common designs and registered common designs.
The non-registered mutually protected designs enjoy protection for three years without the necessity of a registration as long as the protection criteria for innovation as well as sufficient proprietorship are fulfilled. The protection is effective from the initial date of release of the design, regardless of the object of registered design. In the wake of the limited protective period, the non-registered common design protection is an interesting instrument for aesthetically designed goods which are more likely to demonstrate a short serviceable life in business transaction, such as fashionable textiles or certain toy articles, for example.
In contrast, the registered common design protection becomes effective through its notification and ultimate registration with the appropriate authorities. This authority is, as is the case with common brands, the Office for Harmonization for the Domestic Market with it headquarters in Alicante. To the extent that all extension possibilities are exploited, the protective period for the registered design protection will total 25 years. Again, the prerequisites for qualification for protection are fulfillment of the protection criteria for innovation and sufficient design proprietorship.
The common factor for all of these common design protections is that they develop a uniform effect for the entire economic territory of the common domestic market. Even a dissolution or waiver affecting the common design protection is only possible and effective for all of the nations of the domestic market.
Along with the common design protection, the parallel protective instrument of internationally registered design protection continues to exist. This is based on the Hague Design Agreement, for which various countries are signatories that are not necessarily politically aligned with one another. Finally, in virtually all of the European Union nations and those abroad, the possibility still exists to acquire national design protection via the channel of registration with the respective national authorities.
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European Patent:
Further Member States
There is a new expansion of the EPU nations: New members are now the Czech Republic, the Slovakian Republic, Bulgaria and Estonia. These countries can be named for all European patent registrations from July 1st, 2002.
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