HIRED –TO- INVENT: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF EMPLOYEES’ INVENTION, LICENCES AND AGREEMENT

Abstract

Inventions are the result of methodological research. However, when an invention is made in the course of employment or in the execution of a contract, then the question as to who owns the invention arises. Thus, ownership of employee’s inventions brings to limelight the intersection of intellectual property rights and labour law. One question we commonly hear from inventors who are employees is whether they have ownership rights to a patentable idea they conceived while working for a company. The answer can be quite tricky and uncertain. It is on this premise that this paper aims to examine the general rule, in the absence of a written agreement to the contrary, whether an employer has a non-exclusive license to use an invention devised by an employee while working for the employer. The doctrinal method of legal research was employed. The paper finds that the more difficult situation arises when an employment contract is silent as to intellectual property rights. The paper further finds that under the “hired-to-invent” doctrine; if an employee is hired to invent something or solve a particular problem, the property of the invention related to this effort may belong to the employer. The paper concluded inter alia that there is usually absence of certainty and clear specification of the terms of ownership of intellectual property rights in an employment relationship in Nigeria. The paper recommended among others that certainty and clear specification of the terms of ownership of intellectual property rights in an employment relationship before any intellectual property is developed is paramount, otherwise, the question of who owns the rights to employee inventions becomes complicated.