Question
Kyrieisan unemployedelectrical engineerwhohastaken up a job asthemanager of her friend Lilith'shair salon and business;HairbyDesignorFabrication.Lilithisan award-winning hairstylist whose businessalsoinvolvestraining stylistsin hertechniquesand promoting products(such as hairdryers,and attachments)toimprovestyling.Lilith
Kyrieisan unemployedelectrical engineerwhohastaken up a job asthemanager of her friend Lilith'shair salon and business;"HairbyDesignorFabrication".Lilithisan award-winning hairstylist whose businessalsoinvolvestraining stylistsin hertechniquesand promoting products(such as hairdryers,and attachments)toimprovestyling.Lilith also endorses products online in her own YouTubechannel. Lilith'sYouTubechannel isa successful partof herbusiness.
Kyrie's employment primarily involvesorganizingstocks (such as conditioner, toner, colours, hair extensions etc), making clientappointments,and doing the bank reconciliation statements of the daily earnings. He supervises the efficientrunning of the businessincluding theYouTubechannel, where Lilith demonstrates hair techniques and products.
Kyriebecomesfascinated with how Lilith'susesa 'brushand blowdryer'techniquetosmooth fly-aways. Thisskilledtechniqueinvolvesthestylistusing a round brush tosection and managethehair,whilst directing airflowfromthedryer topushthe fly-awaysintothestyleand outof sight.
Kyrieresearchesthistechniqueand findsitisknown asthe"Coandaeffect".TheCoanda effectisa phenomenon inwhich a jetflowattachesitselftoa nearbysurfaceand remainsattachedeven when thesurfacecurvesawayfromtheinitial jet flowdirection.
Kyrie becomesobsessedwith finding a waytoreplicatethismethod fortheeverydayhome stylist to use.In the basementat herhome,sheusesher engineering skillsand equipment todevelop ahairdryerattachmentthat replicatestheCoandaeffect withouttheneed for using a physical brush. Her hairdryerattachment hastheadded advantagethatitsmoothsfly-aways outofsight, withoutexposing the hair toextreme heat damage.
Kyrie developsdrawings anda prototype hair dryer attachment but needs to perfect the attachment for manufacture. Sheapproachesher friend and fellow engineer Brenda. Brenda is a Phd student,whonowworksasa researcherinvestigating applicationsand usesofjet airflowatMonaInstituteof Technology (MIT)research laboratories. Brenda is a junior researcher who works for senior researchers and is assigned to research projects as they arise. She also teaches classes in airflow dynamics to undergraduate students at MIT. Brenda makesprototypesfrom Kyrie'sdrawingsusingMIT's3D printer.KyrieandBrenda discussrefinementstothehairdryer attachmentand furtherprototypesaremadethatarethen testedbyLilithin hersalon understrict confidentialityagreements. Lilith enjoys using the attachment as it stops her getting sore wrists when curling the brushes to do the same effect with a brush. She does not understand how the attachment manages to do what she has done for 20 years using a brush.
Kyriefilesapatentin her hairdryer attachment.She isnowcommercialisingtheattachmentand a numberofmanufacturershaveexpressed interest,but Lilith,Brenda andMITall believetheyhave rightsto ownershipof the patent.
Explain toKyriewhether;
(a)Lilith orBrenda can claim to be joint inventors with Kyrie.Who is the inventor? (requires discussion of Brenda and Lillith)
(b) CanMIT claim ownership through Brenda; ofthepatent under the provisions of thePatentsAct1990(Cth).
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