Assignments
As with all other intellectual property, patents and patent applications can be assigned. The assignment must be in writing, signed by the patentee — or applicant for registration, as the case may be. The agreement to assign must also be recorded with the Registrar — if it is not, the assignment can be disregarded by any third parties, although it will be valid between the assignor and assignee.
Read sections 59(1) and 60 of the Patents Act.
An employee cannot be forced to assign the rights to all her inventions. Any condition in an employment agreement that requires the employee to assign any invention not made in the course and scope of her employment will be null and void — in other words, of no force or effect whatsoever.
Also, any clause in an employment agreement which restricts the rights of an employee to any invention made by him more than one year after his employment ends will be null and void.
Read section 59(2) of the Patents Act.