Die Regelung des § 42 Nr. 1 ArbEG auf dem »verfassungsrechtlichen Prüfstand«

This article discusses the recent findings of the German Federal Court of Justice on the constitutionality of Section 42 of the German Employee Invention Code (»Arbeitnehmererfindungsgesetz«) in its decision »Selbststabilisierendes Kniegelenk«. This author disagrees with the Court's opinion that Section 42 recognizes the academic freedom protected under Article 5(3) of the German Constitution (»Grundgesetz«). Moreover, it is the author's analysis that neither Article 5(3) nor any other provision of the German Constitution permit public universities to restrain the academic freedom of their employed scientists for the sole purpose of obtaining the right to patent and exploit their inventions. This author believes that Section 42 of the Employee Invention Code, in effect, infringes an individual's academic freedom to disclose inventions to the scientific community freely and without being subject to any further obligations.