Must employer give patent bonuses to laid-off employee?
My employer will be laying off quite a few employees this spring. At our place of employment, any patents we author belong to the company, but we do get a bonus for each one that becomes viable ($1,000/patent), as well as an initial bonus of $200 when the patent is filed.
If my employer offers me a severance package, do I also have the right to say that the "bonus" compensation for all outstanding patents be included as well? In other words I invented the items when I was still employed by the company.
Thank you for your assistance with this; there are several of us who have this question.
Answers (1)
This becomes a question of the employment contract. If the "bonus" is part of your compensation for the patent, then you should still be entitled to it. If it is a bonus that does not vest until the date the patent is formalized it probably won't. If you know that there will be layoffs this spring, this might be a good time to try to renegotiate your employment contract (or to get one if you don't have one.) You should call one of the fine employment lawyers on this site.
Aaron Maduff
posted by Aaron Maduff | Sep 22, 2006 11:35 AM [EST]
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