New Judgment Clarifies The Criteria For Co-inventorship Under Danish Law

Background

Olin is a global manufacturer and distributor of chemical products, including epoxy, and supplies epoxy to Vestas for use in the production of wind turbine blades.

The dispute concerned 11 international patent applications filed by Vestas and one granted US patent. Olin claimed that the patent rights were based, at least in part, on knowledge and results developed jointly by the parties as part of a collaboration between them.

The Court’s findings on co-inventorship

The judgment addresses the criteria for co-inventorship under Danish patent law. The Court stated that, in order to be regarded as an inventor or co-inventor, a person must have made an independent intellectual contribution to the invention. The contribution must not be entirely insignificant and may, for example, consist of being the originator of the idea behind the