Employers: protecting valuable IP created by employees

Managers responsible for ensuring that an organisation's intellectual property rights are protected often believe that the organisation automatically owns all intellectual property rights arising from the work of its employees. The reality is a little more complicated, and the position can vary between different countries and between different forms of intellectual property.

Some countries have legislation which provides for a broad presumption of ownership by employers of intellectual property rights arising from work in the course of employment. However, this is not the case in the UAE, where the position varies as between forms of intellectual property. For this reason, it would be prudent for employers operating in the UAE to thoroughly consider these issues and put in place mechanisms such as policy manuals, standard clauses in employment contracts and assignment documents to ensure their proper ownership and protection of intellectual property rights created by