Fair price (attributable non-mission invention)

The fair price is the consideration owed to the employee when the employer exercises its right to be assigned the ownership or the enjoyment of an attributable non-service invention , that is an invention made by the employee outside their inventive mission, but in the course of performing their duties, in the field of the company’s activities, or through knowledge or use of techniques, means or data provided by the company. The fair price is provided for by Article L. 611-7 of the Intellectual Property Code, which can be consulted on Légifrance.

Fair price and additional remuneration

The two notions must not be confused. additional remuneration rewards the author of a service invention, which belongs to the employer from the outset. The fair price is the acquisition price of an invention that belonged to the employee and that the employer chooses to claim. It is therefore in principle higher, since it compensates a transfer of ownership and not a mere contribution.

Setting the fair price

First, the fair price is set by agreement between the employee and the employer. Next, failing agreement, it is set by the National Commission for Employee Inventions or by the Paris Judicial Court. Finally, the law requires that all the elements provided in particular by the employer and the employee be taken into consideration to calculate the fair price according to both the initial contributions of each and the industrial and commercial usefulness of the invention. The courts take into account the prospects of exploitation on the date of attribution, but may, depending on the case, include later elements revealing the real value of the invention.

Key points

In practice, the classification of the invention determines everything: service invention, attributable non-service invention or non-attributable non-service invention. This classification results from the employee’s invention declaration and from the employer’s response within the regulatory time limits. The employer has a limited period to exercise its right of attribution, failing which the invention remains the employee’s property. The firm handles these issues in advisory and litigation work, as presented on the page employee inventions lawyer.