Arbeitnehmererfinderrecht in Japan

Compensation for the Invention of Employees - Translation and Commentary to the Decision of the Tokyo District Court from 16 April 1999

The remuneration of employee inventions in Japan has been quite low over the past years. The Tokyo District court decision discussed in this article triggered a long,   intensive discussion and numerous further court cases which resulted in an essentially confirming decision of the Supreme Court of Japan and a major  amendment of Art. 35 of the Japanese Patent Law which governs employee inventions. The article provides a complete translation of the decision and a detailed commentary.