The assignment provisions in employment agreements have taken on added importance with recent case law from the Federal Circuit. The Federal Circuit’s decision in Stanford University v. Roche, 583 F.3d 832 (Fed. Cir. 2009), drew a sharp distinction between language in assignment provisions focusing on the difference between “agree to assign” and “do hereby assign,” with the former constituting a mere agreement to assign in the future, which is ineffective absent an additional agreement to assign intellectual property that is created in the future.
Read a more detailed description here: Protect Your Intellectual Property: Draft Employment Agreements Carefully.
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The authors of www.PatentLawyerBlog.com are patent litigation lawyers at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP. We represent inventors, patent owners and technology companies in patent licensing and litigation. Whether pursuing patent violations or defending infringement claims, we are aggressive and effective advocates for our clients. For more information contact Stan Gibson at 310.201.3548 or SGibson@jmbm.com.