1、 What is a service invention

Job inventions and creations refer to inventions and creations made by employees while performing work tasks or mainly utilizing the material and technological conditions of the unit. The term ‘this unit’ referred to here includes not only the formal employer, but also the temporary work unit, such as the actual work unit in cases of secondment, dispatch, etc.

2、 What are the material and technical conditions of our unit?

It refers to the funds, equipment components, raw materials, or technical information that is not publicly disclosed by the unit.

3、 What are the specific situations included in the service invention?

Firstly, inventions and creations made in one’s own job, that is, the content of inventions and creations directly belongs to the work output within the scope of the employee’s job responsibilities.

Secondly, inventions and creations made outside of the duties assigned by the unit, that is, tasks specifically assigned by the unit.

4、 Does an employee’s invention or creation after leaving have nothing to do with their original employer?

Not completely unrelated. According to the implementation rules of China’s Patent Law, when an employee completes an invention or creation within one year of leaving the company that is related to their original job or assigned tasks, the invention or creation should still be recognized as a service invention of the original company, and its patent application and patent rights belong to the original company.

However, in practice, to determine whether inventions and creations made by employees who leave their jobs belong to the original unit’s service inventions, three key elements are mainly examined: time element (within one year after resignation), correlation element (relevance to the original unit’s work tasks), and resource element (whether the original unit’s technological accumulation has been substantially utilized). Only when these three elements are met simultaneously can it be recognized as a service invention of the original unit.