B-GmbH is a company in the paper industry. A is an employee at B-GmbH and develops a new environmentally friendly bleaching process for paper. A reports the invention in March 2017 by demonstrating the process directly to the managing director and talking about its uniqueness. The managing director takes note of this, but forgets about the invention because he has more urgent tasks to complete. Two years later, the managing director remembers the invention because it promises high profits. A had already filed a patent application for the invention in September 2017.
Question: What is the legal situation?
A is an employee of B-GmbH, a company operating in the chemical industry. In his spare time, A invents a process for producing particularly pure nitric acid and a boxing glove.
Question: How should A proceed?
E reports an invention by email to the patent department and receives an automatic confirmation of receipt. Later, the employer claims never to have received a report.
Question: Can E refer to the automatic confirmation?
A reports his employee invention to his employer B. Since an employee of B publishes the invention, rendering it no longer patentable, B waives its claim to it.
Question: What claims does A have against his employer?
A reports his employee invention to his employer B. B claims the invention, wants to keep it as a trade secret, and does not want to file a patent application. A publishes the invention because he believes that without a patent application, no claim is possible and the invention therefore belongs to him?
Question: What is the legal situation?
E makes a employee's invention and tests it secretly in the laboratory of his employer H. Seeing great economic potential, he registers the invention on his own authority. He then resigns and starts his own company, which later patents the invention. H can prove, based on the automatically generated laboratory reports, that E had already made the invention while he was still an employee of H.
Question: What is the legal situation?