2011]
INVENTIONS MADE FOR HIRE
47
Table 5: Work Made For Hire Benefits v. Patent Doctrines
No Negotiation
Shop Rights
Hired-toInvent
Employee Improv.
No Assignment From Employee
No Court Intervention
Registrability Exclusion and Licensing Use
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Transfer to Others Protection from Future Rights Termination Shield Duration Universal Application
Moreover, as recent cases make clear, companies cannot rely on the patent law doctrines and contracts with their employees to ensure ownership of the rights to their employees’ inventions.163 For example, the Supreme Court recently held 163
See Stanford, 131 S. Ct. at 2192 (2011) (holding that Stanford did not hold the rights to a patent that was allegedly infringed by Roche’s HIV test kits); Abbott Point of Care Inc. v. Epocal