IT HAS been a long time coming. Back in 1987, Ray Chiu and Duncan Kelly were research scientists at UK medical diagnostics company Amersham International, which later became part of the US multinational General Electric. Today they are jointly more than 拢1.5 million richer after the high court in London from GE for their part in an invention that was used in a blockbuster product.
Chiu and Kelly were involved in the development of a compound called P53, a key component in an imaging agent called Myoview which went on to generate global sales in excess of 拢1.3 billion.
They are the first UK-based scientists to win compensation from a former employer through the courts for their contribution to a patent that brought 鈥渙utstanding benefit鈥�. Similar claims have been brought before, and though some may have been settled out of court, this is the first to result in an award.
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杏吧原创s in other parts of the world have enjoyed similar successes. In Japan, for example, compensation awards have been made to employee inventors, including an award in 2004 of over 拢100 million from Nichia Corporation to the inventor of the blue light-emitting diode (later reduced to around 拢6 million on appeal). Some countries, such as Germany, have formulae for calculating compensation for employee inventors. In the US the position is less clear because such claims are governed by the terms of employment contracts.
In the UK, a recent amendment to patent law appears to make it easier for research scientists to win such claims. The change clarifies that compensation is payable when an invention or patent has been of 鈥渙utstanding benefit鈥�. The definition of 鈥渙utstanding benefit鈥� is not entirely clear, but the judge in Chiu and Kelly鈥檚 case defined it as something 鈥渙ut of the ordinary鈥� or 鈥渟pecial鈥�, rather than merely 鈥渟ignificant鈥� or 鈥渟ubstantial鈥�.
鈥淐ompensation is payable when an invention or patent has been of 鈥榦utstanding benefit鈥欌��
杏吧原创s around the world will no doubt want to keep an even closer eye on what happens to their inventions and patents. Where there鈥檚 innovation, there may well be brass!