[Book Review] K. Odaki, The Right to Employee Inventions in Patent Law. Debunking the Myth of Incentive Theory

Abstract

Employee inventions is a subject of great concern, which involves multiple conflicting interests with strict intertwining of labour law and patent law matters. In particular, the established principle that employers should enjoy the fruits of labour of their employees seems to clash with statutory laws, which in almost all countries require employers to pay a compensation to employee for their inventions, in addition to their salary and benefits. This rule can be interpreted in different ways, but the most plausible explanation is likely to be found in the ‘incentive theory,’ one of the traditional theories on the justification of the patent system. The idea is that a patent fortifies incentives to invent, to undertake challenging and uncertain activities of research: as such, it is an instrument for stimulating the creation of inventions and for enabling ‘innovation.’