[Advisory] Review of whether a university professor's job invention is patentable.

Professor B, a professor at a prestigious domestic science and technology university, founded company A to commercialize a new technology developed through his research field. However, one day, Professor B received a notification from the university stating that the new technology was developed as a work invention and should rightfully belong to the university.

Professor B inevitably wondered whether the university's demand to assign his technology, which has the potential to create a market worth several hundred billion won, to the university was legally justifiable. He could not use the technology corresponding to the work invention for private use, violating current laws and the university's regulations, but not all technologies invented by university employees should belong to the university and infringe upon the inventor's rights.

Law firm Veat investigated the Invention Promotion Act and its enforcement regulations, as well as the university’s internal regulations and regulations of the industry-university cooperation foundation, to identify the requirements for a new technology developed by a university employee to be considered a work invention and assigned to the university, and investigated whether Professor B’s case met those requirements. As a result, the university and Professor B were able to find a way to reduce legal risks while commercializing the new technology and generating profits.

Thank you.

Law firm Veat