The Law on Employees’ Inventions regulates how rights to an invention are transferred from an employee to the employer and what obligations result from this for the employee and, above all, for the employer.

The inventor is initially entitled to the invention; if there are several inventors, the invention belongs jointly to the inventors. If the inventor is an employee, he/she must report the invention to his/her employer in text form. The employer can claim the invention or release it to the inventor. If the employer decides to claim the invention, he usually has to file a German patent application. Otherwise, the employee can dispose of the invention himself/herself and, for example, apply for a property right at his/her own expense.