ARTICLE
31 October 2019

Another Look At Ownership Of IP Rights In Employees' Work

H
HLK

Contributor

HLK is a global cooperation combining Haseltine Lake Kempner LLP and HL Kempner Partnerschaft mbB and provides a full suite of IP services advising across the entire IPR Lifespan™ in all technical and scientific disciplines. With offices in London, Bristol, Munich, Leeds, Glasgow, and Guangzhou (China), HLK provides IP services across the globe. HLK’s resources and expertise are exclusively dedicated to IP protection: safeguarding the inventions, creative designs, brand identities and other innovations of its clients. HLK advises on the strategy, identification, protection, opposition and appeal, exploitation and enforcement of IP rights, and defends its clients from allegations of infringement by focusing on acquiring competitive advantage for its clients. HLK is privileged to work with some of the most exciting and forward-looking businesses in the world which are at the forefront of innovation and product development in their various spheres.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, her claim was dismissed by the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal and, now, by the Court of Appeal.
UK Employment and HR
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A very unusual judgment was handed down earlier this month by the Court of Appeal in Gray v Mulberry Company. It was an appeal from an employment tribunal decision, concerning employee rights in intellectual property. The appellant had been employed by the design company, Mulberry, which produces luxury leather handbags and other items. She refused to sign its standard side-agreement concerning ownership of IP rights, and was dismissed as a result. She brought a claim for discrimination (direct and indirect) on the grounds of belief. The belief in question was "the statutory human or moral right to own the copyright and moral rights of her own creative works and output."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, her claim was dismissed by the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal and, now, by the Court of Appeal. Indeed, we are somewhat surprised that the Court of Appeal gave permission for a second appeal in this action. The ownership of IP rights in employees' work is long-settled in law, and governed by various statutes, and it would have been an extraordinary result had the Court of Appeal held there to be a right, arising under the Equality Act 2010, for an employee to own the rights in his/her work created in the course of employment. Indeed, we wonder whether such a finding would have resulted in a deluge of other claims for discrimination on the grounds of belief – perhaps the "statutory human or moral right to stay in bed and not bother going to work"!

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ARTICLE
31 October 2019

Another Look At Ownership Of IP Rights In Employees' Work

UK Employment and HR

Contributor

HLK is a global cooperation combining Haseltine Lake Kempner LLP and HL Kempner Partnerschaft mbB and provides a full suite of IP services advising across the entire IPR Lifespan™ in all technical and scientific disciplines. With offices in London, Bristol, Munich, Leeds, Glasgow, and Guangzhou (China), HLK provides IP services across the globe. HLK’s resources and expertise are exclusively dedicated to IP protection: safeguarding the inventions, creative designs, brand identities and other innovations of its clients. HLK advises on the strategy, identification, protection, opposition and appeal, exploitation and enforcement of IP rights, and defends its clients from allegations of infringement by focusing on acquiring competitive advantage for its clients. HLK is privileged to work with some of the most exciting and forward-looking businesses in the world which are at the forefront of innovation and product development in their various spheres.
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