Are inventors that are employed by a company allowed to profit from their inventions?
The answer to this question will often depend upon the employment contract that the inventor is subject to. In most situations, an inventor that develops an invention in the normal course of his employment may be required by his employment contract to assign all rights to the invention to his employer. However, most companies try to hold onto their inventors by giving out bonuses and other financial rewards for new patents and inventions. If, by some chance, an employee is not subject to an assignment clause under his employment contract, the employer may still be able to demand an assignment of rights to an invention under the “employed to invent” doctrine. Under this doctrine, if an employee is employed (even without an employment contract) to accomplish a task or set goal, or is hired with the intent to develop a new invention, the employer will still own all rights to the subsequent invention. This doctrine was developed from a case decided by the United States Supreme Court. Howev
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