Employment Contracts and the Law Applicable to the Right to a
Patent: Czech Considerations

C 2021

Employment Contracts and the Law Applicable to the Right to a Patent: Czech Considerations

KOUKAL, Pavel, Tereza KYSELOVSKÁ and Zuzana VLACHOVÁ

Basic information

Original name

Employment Contracts and the Law Applicable to the Right to a Patent: Czech Considerations

Authors

KOUKAL, Pavel (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution), Tereza KYSELOVSKÁ (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution) and Zuzana VLACHOVÁ (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution)

Edition

Cham, Balkan Yearbook of European and International Law, p. 177-198, 22 pp. Balkan yearbook, 2021

Publisher

Springer

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Kapitola resp. kapitoly v odborné knize

Field of Study

50501 Law

Country of publisher

Switzerland

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Publication form

printed version "print"

References:

Web nakladatele Repozitář MU

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14220/21:00118850

Organization unit

Faculty of Law

ISBN

978-3-030-65294-4

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/16247_2020_18

Keywords in English

Right to a patent; Rome I Regulation; Territoriality; Lex loci protectionis; Employee inventions

Abstract

V originále

The number of intellectual property cases that include cross-border elements is growing due to rapidly evolving technologies and advancing globalization. The free movement of workers in research and development also leads to numerous international private law issues, especially in situations where employees are hired to produce new inventions. Since it is necessary to consider private international law issues related to the cross-border production of new inventions more frequently than in the past, we have to clarify if the law applicable to employment contracts concluded with the inventors also governs the issues related to intellectual property protection. This paper focuses on the law applicable to employee inventions, especially to the right to a patent, and aims to show how the boundaries between the scope of application of the employment statute (lex contractus) and the so-called intellectual property statute (lex loci protectionis) are set in the Czech private international law. We will argue that the employment statute is an obligation statute and, therefore, can only be applied to the relationship between the contractual parties (the employee and the employer). Any issues that concern erga omnes rights are, in principle, excluded from the employment statute. In this paper, we defend the thesis that the closest connecting factor subsists in the intellectual property regime, not in the legal regime of the employment contract agreed upon by the parties. This paper was written within the project and with the financial support of the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, No. GA17-19923S, “Private International Law and Intellectual Property Rights – Law Applicable.”

Links

GA17-19923S, research and development project

Name: Mezinárodní právo soukromé a právo duševního vlastnictví - kolizní otázky

Investor: Czech Science Foundation

Files attached

20220427115240707.pdf

Request the author's version of the file

Citovat

KOUKAL, Pavel, Tereza KYSELOVSKÁ and Zuzana VLACHOVÁ. Employment Contracts and the Law Applicable to the Right to a Patent: Czech Considerations. In Balkan Yearbook of European and International Law. Cham: Springer, 2021, p. 177-198. Balkan yearbook. ISBN 978-3-030-65294-4. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/16247_2020_18.

@inbook{1736757,
   author = {Koukal, Pavel and Kyselovská, Tereza and Vlachová, Zuzana},
   address = {Cham},
   booktitle = {Balkan Yearbook of European and International Law},
   doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/16247_2020_18},
   keywords = {Right to a patent; Rome I Regulation; Territoriality; Lex loci protectionis; Employee inventions},
   howpublished = {tištěná verze "print"},
   language = {eng},
   location = {Cham},
   isbn = {978-3-030-65294-4},
   pages = {177-198},
   publisher = {Springer},
   title = {Employment Contracts and the Law Applicable to the Right to a Patent: Czech Considerations},
   url = {https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/16247_2020_18},
   year = {2021}
}

TY  - CHAP
ID  - 1736757
AU  - Koukal, Pavel - Kyselovská, Tereza - Vlachová, Zuzana
PY  - 2021
TI  - Employment Contracts and the Law Applicable to the Right to a Patent: Czech Considerations
VL  - Balkan yearbook
PB  - Springer
CY  - Cham
SN  - 9783030652944
KW  - Right to a patent
KW  - Rome I Regulation
KW  - Territoriality
KW  - Lex loci protectionis
KW  - Employee inventions
UR  - https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/16247_2020_18
N2  - The number of intellectual property cases that include cross-border elements is growing due to rapidly evolving technologies and advancing globalization. The free movement of workers in research and development also leads to numerous international private law issues, especially in situations where employees are hired to produce new inventions. Since it is necessary to consider private international law issues related to the cross-border production of new inventions more frequently than in the past, we have to clarify if the law applicable to employment contracts concluded with the inventors also governs the issues related to intellectual property protection. This paper focuses on the law applicable to employee inventions, especially to the right to a patent, and aims to show how the boundaries between the scope of application of the employment statute (lex contractus) and the so-called intellectual property statute (lex loci protectionis) are set in the Czech private international law. We will argue that the employment statute is an obligation statute and, therefore, can only be applied to the relationship between the contractual parties (the employee and the employer). Any issues that concern erga omnes rights are, in principle, excluded from the employment statute. In this paper, we defend the thesis that the closest connecting factor subsists in the intellectual property regime, not in the legal regime of the employment contract agreed upon by the parties. This paper was written within the project and with the financial support of the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, No. GA17-19923S, “Private International Law and Intellectual Property Rights – Law Applicable.”
ER  -

KOUKAL, Pavel, Tereza KYSELOVSKÁ and Zuzana VLACHOVÁ. Employment Contracts and the Law Applicable to the Right to a Patent: Czech Considerations. In \textit{Balkan Yearbook of European and International Law}. Cham: Springer, 2021, p.~177-198. Balkan yearbook. ISBN~978-3-030-65294-4. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/16247\_{}2020\_{}18.

Detailed Information on Publication Record