During the 4•26 Intellectual Property Publicity Week, Shandong Higher People's Court held a press conference to inform the top ten intellectual property cases by Shandong courts in 2022. The case of “patent ownership of oxygen generator” represented by Pan Cong, a legal counsel of Globe-Law Law Firm, was successfully selected.

Top Ten Intellectual Property Cases 2022 by Shandong Courts 

Case of “Patent Ownership of Oxygen Generator” 

Basic Information

Plaintiff: Wu XX

Defendant: Shandong Company A

Case Brief

Wu XX is engaged in technical work in Shandong Company A (hereinafter referred to as “Company A”). When Wu XX joined Company A, both parties agreed that “the patents to be applied for with Wu XX’s technology in the future will be jointly owned by Company A and Wu XX”. Later, Company A obtained the patent right for the design of “oxygen generator”, and the designer was Wu XX and others. Company A believes that the patent asserted in the case is a service invention obtained by Wu XX in performing the work tasks of Company A, and Company A is the right holder of the patent asserted in the case. Wu XX believes that according to the agreements between both parties when he joined Company A, the patent asserted in the case should be jointly owned by Wu XX and Company A, so he requests the court to order that the patent asserted in the case should be jointly owned by Wu XX and Company A.

After trial, the court held that for the disputed agreements between the parties, the true meaning of the expression of intent should be determined based on the relevant provisions and the purpose of the agreements. When Wu XX joined Company A, he said that he could provide technical resources for oxygen generator for Company A. Later, Wu XX was in charge of the design of oxygen generator in Company A, and the purpose of employing Wu XX by Company A was to use his technology to develop and produce oxygen generators. “The patent applied for with Wu XX’s technology shall be jointly owned by both parties” should be understood as “the patent applied for with service invention creation completed by Wu XX’s technology should be jointly owned by Wu XX and Company A”. The court ruled that the patent right for the design of “oxygen generator” was jointly owned by Wu XX and Company A.

Typical Significance

This case is a typical case to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the innovation subject. An inventor or a designer may agree with the employer on the right to apply for a patent and the ownership of the patent right. The judgment of this case accurately determines the role of the material foundation provided by the employer and the intellectual labor of the technician in the formation of technological achievements, which is of positive significance for stimulating the innovation vitality of talents and improving the property right system of scientific and technological achievements.