The Act on the Right in Employee Inventions governs employee inventions in Finland. The Act, which has some statutory obligations, the rights and obligations of employee inventors in Finland are the subject of this article.
Employee inventor rights
Article 4 of the Act states that an inventor is the rightful owner of an invention, even if it arises during the inventor’s employment relationship. However, if the invention is the result of an employee’s activity while performing their duties or is primarily the result of an employee’s experience in the enterprise or institution of their employer or in the enterprise or institution belonging to the same consolidated corporation, the employer is entitled to acquire the rights to the invention in whole or in part. This also holds true when the invention stems from a task given to the employee who invented it (for further details, see “Employee inventions in Finland: ensuring proper transfer and assignment of IP rights to employers”).
The rights of the employee inventor are a major focus of the Act’s mandatory provisions. Surprisingly, the Act has a mandatory provision that allows employee inventors to submit a patent application for their inventions as long as they inform their employer one month prior to the filing date of their intention to do so and make sure confidentiality responsibilities are maintained. This right should be properly controlled throughout the invention stages even though it is not frequently used.
Important mandatory provisions of the Act also apply to the employee inventor’s right to compensation for the inventions to which their employers have obtained rights. Any prior agreement that waives the inventor’s rights to compensation is illegal and unenforceable under the law. The inventor is entitled to remuneration.
Up to ten years after the employer told the inventor that they would be obtaining the rights to the invention, the inventor is also permitted to bring legal action in a compensation matter. Furthermore, if a patent application was submitted in conjunction with the invention, the court action may be brought up within one year after the grant date, which means that it may be brought up after the normal 10-year period.
If the situation has significantly changed and the invention proves to be worth more than anticipated, the employee inventor may also be entitled to higher remuneration.
Last but not least, the innovator is also protected when he or she moves to the new company. Any agreement signed involving an invention between the inventor and the former employer that is executed more than a year after the employment contract expired is immediately void.
Obligations for employee inventors
An employee who creates an invention that is covered by the Act is subject to various obligations under the Act. The inventor must, specifically:
- notify their employer of the invention in writing without delay (promptly after the invention has arisen);
- provide a sufficient level of detail of the invention and all such information that enables its use and exploitation so that the employer can evaluate the invention and decide whether they wish to acquire the rights to the invention;
- provide the employer with information regarding the circumstances under which the invention was made (if the employer requests this information); and
- keep the invention confidential for the employer’s consideration during a four-month period, which starts from the date of notification.
The Act makes it mandatory to keep the invention secret for the four months the employer has to consider it. Other obligations of the employee inventor, though not required, are a well-established practice in Finland. It can be difficult to determine when the employer’s four-month consideration period began and when the employer should have decided whether to acquire the rights or, if necessary, to request an extension of the consideration period as a result of missing written notices on inventions.
The Act protects inventors’ rights in employment relationships and is generally considered to be in favor of inventors. Proper invention management procedures should be set up to provide clarity, particularly with regard to crucial time limits, and to make sure that rights are being properly transferred and assigned to the employer.
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