When an employee inventor reports an invention to his employer in Germany, the rights to the invention go to the employer, who then has the duty to file a patent application for the invention. In return, the employee inventor has the right to be compensated by the employer.
But what if the employer files only a German utility model, which has a maximum runtime of 10 years (as opposed to 20 years for a patent)? Doesn't that deprive the employee of some of the compensation he is entitled to?
And what if he then drafts and files a patent application on his own? Can he claim compansation for that as well?
(Spoiler: Yes, it does and yes, he can.)