Therefore, employers who wish to claim patents for the inventions of their employees must have the employee file the patent application. This usually just means that the company's legal department prepares the patent application in the employee's name. However, this can't be done without the employee's knowledge and consent. If the employer, through due diligence, is unable to find the actual inventor, the statute does provide for the employer to claim the patent. Copyright, patent, or trade secrets law can protect many types of intellectual property, notably software.
Businesses decide how to protect their intellectual property by weighing a number of factors.
For example, there is a certain prestige associated with owning patents, which can translate into increased shareholder value by increasing the esteem with which the company is viewed in its industry. On the other hand, patent applications are available to the public. The patent application itself requires incredibly detailed drawings and descriptions of the invention, as well as detailed information concerning the way in which the invention was created. Although a patent protects the invention from actual use by competitors, the patent application can reveal other information that competitors could use to their advantage. By contrast, a copyright registration requires that the author deposit a copy of the work.