Judges rule against employee inventor: “companies can breathe a sigh of relief”

Right, so companies can breathe a sigh of relief that our stupid 1977 patent act helps slavering fat-cat elites slam our innovation rate into the ground and ensure that “Britain will crumble into the dust” (© James Dyson, An Autobiography, Against the Odds, Orion Business 1998)?

Interestingly, in making a judgement, it transpires that a contract of employment is not worth the equivalent weight in bog paper because one’s terms and conditions evolve depending on ability i.e. if, God forbid, it turns out that an employee is “inventive” then sod the contract you were employed on; you have now evolved to a twilight state were the law of contract does not apply, and your employer can slither about snatching anything worth anything because it is now worth something.

Some have said, however, that companies should “still compensate for inventions that produce outstanding benefits” and that they need to think about the “psychology of the people they employ”.

True but, unfortunately, the 1977 patent act’s “outstanding benefit” clause (section 40) does not actually work – at no time since the introduction of this act (in 30 years) has any UK employee inventor ever won a case for reward for his/her £multi-billon wealth-generating idea. Not a single penny.

What about the “psychology” of this? What about the motivation to invent? Well, just look down; look at the facts and figures on this blog.

All hail British thief-market crapitalism – Adam Smith must be turning in his grave.

Sources: FT – Judges rule against employee inventor and IPKat