Additional remuneration of the employee inventor

Additional remuneration is the financial consideration owed to the employee who is the author of a service invention, the ownership of which belongs to the employer. It is provided for by Article L. 611-7 of the Intellectual Property Code, which can be consulted on Légifrance. Since the Act of 26 November 1990, this additional remuneration is mandatory: it is owed even where the collective agreement or the employment contract does not provide for it.

The sources of additional remuneration

First, collective agreements, which often set principles and sometimes a scale, as in the metalworking, chemical or pharmaceutical industries. Next, company agreements, which specify the terms: lump-sum bonus on filing, supplement on grant, variable share linked to exploitation. Finally, the employment contract or an internal inventor incentive policy. In the absence of applicable provisions, or in case of disagreement, the amount is set by the National Commission for Employee Inventions or by the Paris Judicial Court, which has exclusive jurisdiction.

The calculation criteria

Case law mainly considers the economic interest of the invention for the company, assessed in the light of its actual or foreseeable exploitation, the personal contribution of theinventor compared with the means placed at their disposal, and the difficulties of development. A patented but unexploited invention gives rise to modest remuneration, whereas an invention behind an important product may justify significant sums. Collective agreements that make remuneration conditional on the exceptional interest of the invention are set aside by the courts as contrary to the law.

Limitation period and litigation

The action for payment of additional remuneration is time-barred after five years. The starting point is the day on which the employee had the information needed to calculate the claim, which in practice requires that they were informed of the exploitation of the invention. This question is the subject of evolving case law, analysed on our blog in the article on the starting point of additional remuneration. In practice, the firm advises employers on setting up compliant remuneration policies and defends employers and inventors in disputes, as presented on the page employee inventions lawyer.