Law applied:
PatG § 8
IntPatÜG Art. 2 § 5 para. 1 sentence 2
Decision keyword:
Device for cleaning pot-shaped hollow bodies, in particular transport containers for semiconductor wafers or for EUV lithography masks
Summary:
1. With regard to the question of the extent to which a former employer has a vindication claim in respect of inventions based on knowledge acquired by the employee during his employment, the principles developed by the Federal Court of Justice regarding the entitlement of a co-inventor cannot be applied without further ado, as otherwise there would be a connection to the former employer for every invention subsequently made by this employee.
2. With regard to the use of knowledge acquired in the company of the former employer, a distinction must be made between the employer's secret knowledge and general technical knowledge - even if this may have been significantly increased by the employment - with the result that inventions that are solely attributable to or based on secret knowledge can be infringed.
3. Inventions which can be attributed to the expansion of general knowledge through intensive technical involvement with the subject matter are excluded from vindication.
If the statement of claim in a patent vindication action is based on the fact that the invention is based on knowledge that is not embodied, i.e. "in the employee's head", it is necessary to state that this is secret knowledge that is not accessible to everyone and in what specific way the employee is said to have gained knowledge of it. (para. 69) (editorial guiding principle)
LG Munich I, final judgment of October 15, 2024 – 7 O 13928/23, GRUR-RS 2024, 35501 –
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