An engineering student in charge of the Engineering Technology Innovation Club (ETIC), that takes on projects to develop new and often inventive technology, comes into the business law clinic at your school where you are one of the law student case-workers. You are meeting with the student (who is the current ETIC Group Leader) for the first time as he describes what he believes to be a patentable invention that his team has come up with.

Task 2a [3 marks]: What are some of the questions you should ask to determine whether it's a patentable invention? Explain why.

 

Scenario 2 (Cont.): Your discussion with the Group Leader finds that he believes he is the sole inventor and owner of the invention. Your questioning found that he identified the problem to be solved, and coordinated the group as a sort of operations manager, while the other students in the group, who he refers to as his employees, actually solved the problem that resulted in the invention. 

 

Task 2b [3 marks]: Do you think he is an inventor? Are the other students the inventors? Are they all inventors? Explain your reasoning in terms of the law on inventorship.

 

Scenario 2 (Cont.): Your discussion determines that the group responsible for developing the new invention are all summer students. Their pay is funded through external grants and they are employed by your school to take on the research project through ETIC. 

Task 2c [3 marks]: Who do you think owns the invention (assuming it is a patentable), and explain why. If there is other information you believe you need to come to definitive answer, explain what that is and why?