Abstract

Employee inventions raise a complex legal issue concerning the allocation of rights in an invention and the distribution of its benefits between the employee-inventor and the employer, thereby requiring a balance between the protection of individual creativity and the safeguarding of the undertaking’s investment. This study examines the legal framework governing employee inventions under Moroccan Law No. 17-97, focusing on the criteria for their classification and on determining the party to whom ownership is vested, depending on the extent to which the invention is connected with the employee’s professional duties or with the undertaking’s activities and resources. The study highlights the specific legal treatment of mission-related inventions and inventions made outside the scope of the employee’s duties, and the different consequences arising from each category with regard to ownership and the inventor’s financial rights. It also examines the reciprocal obligations of the parties to the employment relationship, particularly the obligations of disclosure, information-sharing and confidentiality, as well as additional remuneration and fair compensation as mechanisms for ensuring financial equity. The study concludes that the Moroccan legislator has established a framework aimed at reconciling the interests of the employer with the rights of the employee-inventor. Nevertheless, the general nature of certain provisions, particularly those concerning the determination of the connection between the invention and the employee’s professional duties and the assessment of financial compensation, remains a source of legal uncertainty and leaves significant room for judicial intervention.

Keywords

Employee invention; Mission-related invention; Independent invention; Incidental invention; Fair price; Additional remuneration.