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This Practice Note introduces the UK law on employee inventions, namely when and how an employee who invents something at work will be allowed to either own the invention they made, or if they do not own it, eg if employed to invent, the circumstances in which they can require their employer to give them compensation for developing an invention that it is of great value to the company.

Many employees engaged in design and research invent products and processes that lead to significant financial rewards for their employers. Under certain circumstances, when an employee has made an invention in the course of their job, they have the right to seek compensation from their employer, even if the nature of their job means that they were ‘employed to invent’ by spending at least some of their work time making inventions. This is in recognition of the work the employee has done, when they are not able to own the invention they produced.