Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York
Patent rights when working for a company
I worked for a company for about a year, then I was laid off and it has been a years since that. While I was there I created a website that became thier flagship product.
Just last week I got an email from someone there saying that they were applying for a patent for the product and they need my full name and address.
Why would they need my name and address? Do I get credit or have any rights? Should I just give them my name or are there some smart questions I should ask? As much insight as possible would be great.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Patent rights when working for a company
The rights you have depend upon your working relationship with your former employer. Did you
sign any type of agreement during your employment stating that your individual work product was the property of the employer? If you did, all rights to any inventions, procedures, etc. you developed during the course of your employment is the legal intellectual property of the employer.
When filing a patent application, the name of the inventor is required...even if the invention
belongs to the employer. Consequently, the fact that the employer needs your name and address
on the application, does not necessarily imply you have any ownership rights to the invention.
To determine your rights, begin by looking through your personal files and see if you have any copies of agreements you signed during your employment with this firm or ask them to please
send you copies, specifically, of any contract and/or agreement that reflects your agreement that any work product created by you during your employment belongs to the firm. Another option is
to speak to their attorney to get more information about this patent application.
Good luck.
Sarah Klug
Law Office of Sarah Scova Klug
845-471-8106
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