WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  IP/N/1/FIN/P/11 
9 February 2007 
 (07-0597) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English/ 
 anglais/  inglés 
 
 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PR OPERTY LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
NOTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
FINLAND
 
  The   present   document   reproduces    the   consolidated   text
1  of  the  Act on the Right in 
Employee Inventions 29.12.1967/656 as amended up to 2000/1078 incl., notified by Finland under 
Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document IP/N/1/FIN/2).  
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce 
 
 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À 
LA PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
 
FINLANDE
 
  Le présent document contient le texte actualisé
1 de la Loi 29.12.1967/656 sur le droit à 
l'invention des employés, modifiée jusqu'en 2000 (20 00/1078) inclusivement, notifiée par la Finlande 
au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir le document IP/N/1/FIN/2). 
 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio 
 
 
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA 
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD 
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
 
FINLANDIA  
 
 En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 refundido de la Ley s obre el Derecho relativo 
a las Invenciones de los Empleados N° 29.12.1 967/656 y sus modificaciones hasta 2000 (2000/1078) 
inclusive, notificado por Finlandia en virtud de lo dispuesto en el párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del 
Acuerdo (véase el documento IP/N/1/FIN/2). 
 
                                                      
1 In English only. The text is available for co nsultation by interested Delegations at the WTO 
Secretariat in Finnish and Swedish./En anglais seulement.  Les délégations intéressées peuvent consulter le texte 
en finnois et suédois au Secrétariat de l'OMC./En inglés solamente.  Las delegaciones interesadas podrán consultar en la Secretaría de la OMC el texto en finlandés y sueco. 
 IP/N/1/FIN/P/11 
Page 2  
 
  Act on the Right in Employee Inventions 29.12.1967/656 (Unofficial translation) 
 
(Amendments up to 2000/1078 included) 
 
 
Section 1 
 
The provisions of this Act apply to inventions  patentable in Finland and made by a person 
employed by another, that is, by an employ ee. This Act shall apply correspondingly to 
persons employed in the public service.  If the employer claims a right in an employee’s invention whic h restricts the employee’s right 
to apply for or obtain a patent fo r the invention, such an invention shall in that respect be held 
to be patentable in Finland, unless the employe r gives probable reasons for obstacles to the 
grant of a patent. (526/1988)  A teacher and a researcher of a university, coll ege or a similar institution of higher education 
shall not, in such capacity, be regarded as an employee within the meaning of this Act. This 
Act shall, however, apply to a teacher at a m ilitary educational institution who holds an office 
or a post in the Defence Forces. (526/1988)  This Act is not applicable to a person who is  in military service under the Conscription Act. 
(526/1988)  For the purposes of this Act, a consolidated corporation means a cons olidated corporation, a 
municipality and a joint muni cipal board under section 6 of Chapter 1 of the Accounting 
Act (1336/1997) as well as enterp rises subject to its authority in the manner referred to in 
section 5 and section 6(2) of Chapte r 1 of the Accounting Act. (1078/2000) 
 Section 2 (526/1988) 
 The provisions of this Act shall be applied in sofar as nothing else has been agreed upon or 
can be considered to appear from the employment contract or from other circumstances. However, contractual terms incompatible with section 3, section 6(2), section 7(1) and (3), 
section 7a, section 8(2) or section 9 are void.  
Section 3 
 
An employee shall have the same right in his in ventions as other inventors, unless otherwise 
provided in this Act or any other Act.  Section 4  (1078/2000) 
 If an invention has ensued from an employee’ s activity in the perfor mance of his duties or 
essentially as a result of using his experiences ga ined in the enterprise or institution of his 
employer or in an enterprise or an institution belonging to the same consolidated corporation, 
the employer may acquire the right in the inven tion, in whole or in part, if the use of the 
invention falls within the field of activity of the employer’s enterprise or of an enterprise  IP/N/1/FIN/P/11 
 Page 3 
 
 
  belonging to the same consolidated corporation. If the invention is th e result of a task 
assigned to him more specifically, the employer ma y acquire the right even if the use of the 
invention is not within the field of activity of the employer’s enterprise or of an enterprise 
belonging to the same consolidated corporation.  If an invention the use of which falls within the field of activity of the employer’s enterprise or of an enterprise belonging to the same consolidated corporation but which has been 
conceived in connection with the employment other than those referred to in the first 
subsection, the employer is entitled to acquire the right to use the invention. 
 Should the employer wish to acquire a more comp rehensive right in an invention referred to 
in the second subsection than that provided for therein or should he wish to acquire the right 
in an invention which has been conceived with out any connection to the employment but the 
use of which falls within the field of activity of  the employer’s enterprise  or of an enterprise 
belonging to the same consolidated corporation,  the employer shall have  priority to acquire 
such a right by agreement with the employee.  Section 5  (526/1988) 
 An employee who makes an invention referred to  in section 4 shall notify the employer of it 
in writing without delay and at the same time  shall communicate such particulars of the 
invention as to enable the em ployer to understand it. At the employer’s request the employee 
shall also inform the employer of what he considers to be the connection between the 
employment and the concep tion of the invention. 
 If the employee, before being bound to the obligation referred to in subsection 1 above, has 
become aware of the field of activity of an enterprise belonging to the same consolidated 
corporation with the employer, which essentiall y differs from the employer’s field of activity, 
the employee’s notification obligation shall also apply to inventions made in the field of 
activity of the aforementi oned enterprise. (1078/2000) 
 
Section 6 
 
An employer who wishes to acquire the right in  an invention in accordance with section 4(1) 
or (2) shall, no later than within four months from his receipt of the notification provided for 
in section 5, notify the employee in writing that he will claim a specified right in the 
invention. The employer shall also exercise th e priority given to him under section 4(3) 
within the same period of time.  During the four months following the receip t of the notification under section 5, the 
employee may not dispose of an invention refe rred to in section 4 without his employer’s 
permission in writing or make any disclosure which would render the invention public or 
would enable it to be used for the benefit of another person. After th e notification has been 
made in accordance with section 5, the empl oyee may, however, apply for a patent for the 
invention in Finland. In this case he may not file the appl ication with the patent authority 
before one month has elapsed from the day he notified the employer in writing of his 
intention to apply for a pate nt for the invention. (1078/2000) 
 IP/N/1/FIN/P/11 
Page 4  
 
  Section 7 
 
Where an employer acquires the right in an in vention made by an employee by virtue of 
section 4 or on other grounds, the employee is entitled to reasonable compensation from the 
employer even if it was agreed otherw ise before the invention was made. 
 When determining the amount of the compensation, particular atte ntion shall be paid to the 
value of the invention, the scope of the right wh ich the employer acquires, as well as to the 
terms and conditions of the employment contract  of the employee and the contribution which 
other circumstances connected wi th the employment had to the conception of the invention. 
 Where an action for compensation has not b een instituted within ten years from the 
employer’s notification of claiming the right in the invention, the right of action shall lapse. If 
a patent for the invention has been applied for, the action may, however, always be instituted within one year from the gr ant of the patent. (526/1988) 
 Section 7 a  (526/1988) 
 The employer shall be obligated to provide th e employee with information necessary for the 
determination of the compensation for the inven tion, specifically the in formation on the filing 
and grant of the patents for the invention, as  well as on the production quantities and selling 
prices of the products conforming to the i nvention, or of the pr oducts manufactured by a 
process conforming to the invention.  The employee shall be obligated to provide the employer with the necessary information on the invention and its utilisation.  
Section 8 
 
Where an application for a patent is filed dur ing the six months following the termination of 
the employment for an invention to which section 4 should be applied if it had been conceived during the course of employment, th e invention shall be deemed to have been 
made during the period of empl oyment unless the inve ntor can give proba ble reasons why the 
invention had been made after the employment had terminated. 
 Any agreement between an employer and an em ployee that limits the employee’s right to 
dispose of an invention made more than one year after the termination of the employment 
shall be void.  
Section 9 
 
Notwithstanding any provision in a court judgme nt or contract concerning compensation 
under section 7, the court may orde r otherwise if this is requir ed by a substantial change in 
circumstances. An employee shall not, howev er, be obligated to refund a compensation 
already paid.   IP/N/1/FIN/P/11 
 Page 5 
 
 
  The provisions of the Act on legal acts under th e law of property (228/1929) shall apply to 
the adjustment of an unreasona ble condition in a contract con cerning the right in an employee 
invention. (961/1982)  Section 10  (526/1988) 
 Anyone who by virtue of this Act learns about an  invention, a trade or professional secret or 
the financial status of another person shall not  without authorisation di sclose to any outside 
third party this information.  Section 11  (526/1988) 
 An Employee Invention Committee shall be inst ituted to give opinions on matters concerning 
the application of this Act; the Committee sha ll consist of a chairman and eight members. 
 The chairman and two members shall be appoint ed by the Government for a fixed term, from 
among persons who are considered  not to represent either em ployer or employee interests. 
The chairman and one of the two members referred to, who shall at the same time act as vice-
chairman, shall have the qualifications of a ju dge and be familiar with the work of a judge. 
The other member shall have a degree in engi neering and be familiar with patent issues. 
 The other members, who shall possess practi cal working experience and be familiar with 
invention activities and of whom three shall re present the employers and three the employees, 
shall be appointed by the Government for two year s at a time at the prop osal of the respective 
organisations.  Each member of the Committee shall have  an alternate member, appointed by the 
Government, with the qualific ations required of a member. 
 Section 11 a  (526/1988) 
 An opinion from the Inventions Committee ma y be sought by employers and employees as 
well as by a court of law when a dispute over an invention has been brought before it. The 
National Board of Patents and Registration of Finl and shall also have the same right if it is 
handling an application for a patent for the invention. The party con cerned shall notify the 
Committee whether he intends to observe th e opinion. The notification shall be submitted 
within two months from the e nd of the month when the party concerned received a copy of 
the opinion. (1078/2000)  The Committee may also function as an arbi tration tribunal if the employer and employee 
have so agreed. In this case the provisions of  the Arbitration Act sha ll apply, unless otherwise 
provided in this Act.  The costs ensued from the Comm ittee’s activities shall be paid from public funds. Where the 
Committee functions as an arbitration tribunal,  the Ministry of Trade and Industry shall 
determine the honorarium of the chairm an, the members and the secretary. 
 IP/N/1/FIN/P/11 
Page 6  
 
  The Committee shall be entitle d to obtain the information n ecessary for giving the opinion 
from the employer, an enterpri se belonging to the same conso lidated corporation and from 
the employee. The Committee shall issue its op inion and arbitration award, unless it is in 
whole or in part against the secrecy obligati ons provided for in the Act on the Openness of 
Government Activities (621/1999). Where a pa tent application concerning the employee 
invention is pending, the opinion may not be p ublished before the documents have become 
available to the public under secti on 22 of the Patents Act (1078/2000) 
 Further provisions on the Committee ma y be given by Government decree. 
 Section 12  (1698/1995) 
 The District Court of Helsinki shall have ju risdiction in disputes concerning employers’ or 
employees’ rights under this Act. In such proc eedings, the provisions on court proceedings in 
patent matters shall apply where appropriate.  The District Court of Helsinki shall be the comp etent court if the disput e concerns the right in 
an invention within the meaning of this Act for which a European patent referred to in the European Patent Convention (Finnish Treaty Series 8/96) has been applied and if the 
employee at the time of making this invention principally was working in Finland. If no State 
can be indicated where the employee principally was working, the District  Court of Helsinki 
shall be the competent court, if the employer at the moment the invention was conceived had 
in Finland such a place of business with which the empl oyee making the invention was 
employed. The matter may be heard at the District Court of Helsinki also  when the parties to 
the dispute have, orally or in writing, agreed that the District Cour t of Helsinki is the 
competent court in the matter and where such an agreement is permitted in the legislation of 
the State whose legislation is applied to the employment contract concerned. 
 
Section 13 
 
Further provisions on the application of th is Act may be given by Government decree. 
 
Section 14 
 
This Act enters into force on 1 January 1968.  This Act does not apply to inve ntions made before 1 January 1968. 
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