Introduction
So, your creative, energetic employees are writing software, perfecting video games or dreaming up ways to turn straw into gold -- all on your nickel. When an employee's invention hits the jackpot, who owns it -- the employee or the employer? The answer to this potentially "mega buck" question depends on how careful the employer is to protect its rights before the invention is created.
The safest way to proceed is with a simple "Assignment of Inventions," in which the employee agrees to assign patent rights to all inventions the employee develops during, or as a result of, his employment. For employers whose employees do creative work of any sort, this type of agreement should be a routine part of the hiring process. The goal of such an agreement is clarity, not to gain an unfair advantage over employees. Indeed morale may suffer if people -- especially creative people -- feel they have been asked to give up too much.
