직무발명의 귀속과 보상 ― 한국과 미국을 중심으로 ―

Abstract

In modern society, most technologies are created by companies that have a well-organized research base. That is, most inventions today are created by employees who are working for companies. In deciding whether an invention made in the course of employment should belong to the employee or the employer, patent law has to balance interests between employers and employees. It has long been supported that the inventor is the first owner of a patent. However, if someone is employed to do something (e.g. invent), the resulting products (i.e. inventions) should be owned by the employer. Patent Act states that if the invention of an employee meets the requirements relating to an in-service invention and the employee transfers his invention to a company, the company must grant him proper compensation for his invention. University patenting and licensing efforts under the Bayh-Dole Act have fostered the commercialization of many new technological advances in the US. The Bayh-Dole Act created incentives for the government, universities, and industry to work together in the commercialization of new technologies for the public benefit. With the success of the Act in the US, similar system has been employed by universities in Korea. Thus, ownership of inventions made by professors under certain circumstances is transferred to the industry foundation (such as SNU Industry Foundation of Seoul National University). Now it became very important to establish a standard by which ownership of inventions by professors could be determined and appropriate compensation could be given to inventors.