Hong Kong Ordinances

PATENTS ORDINANCE - SECT 57

Right to employees' inventions

PART VI

EMPLOYEES' INVENTIONS

(1) Notwithstanding anything in any rule of law, an invention made by an
employee shall, as between him and his employer, be taken to belong to his
employer for the purposes of this Ordinance and all other purposes if-

   (a)  it was made in the course of the normal duties of the employee or in
        the course of duties falling outside his normal duties, but
        specifically assigned to him, and the circumstances in either case
        were such that an invention might reasonably be expected to result
        from the carrying out of his duties; or

   (b)  the invention was made in the course of the duties of the employee
        and, at the time of making the invention, because of the nature of his
        duties and the particular responsibilities arising from the nature of
        his duties he had a special obligation to further the interests of the
        employer's undertaking.

(2) Any other invention made by an employee shall, as between him and his
employer, be taken for those purposes to belong to the employee.

(3) Where by virtue of this section an invention belongs, as between him and
his employer, to an employee, nothing done-

   (a)  by or on behalf of the employee or any person claiming under him for
        the purposes of pursuing an application for a patent; or

   (b)  by any person for the purpose of performing or working the invention,
        shall be taken to infringe any protected layout-design (topography)
        right to which, as between him and his employer, his employer is
        entitled in any model or document relating to the invention. [cf. 1977
        c. 37 s. 39 U.K.]