Pooling patent benefits allowed in UK employee compensation claims, court says

By Melissa Ritti ( October 26, 2026, 14:45 GMT | Insight) -- Employee-inventors can rely on the combined benefit of multiple patents when seeking compensation under Section 40 of the Patents Act — even if none individually meets the statutory threshold — the UK Court of Appeal ruled today. In a dispute between global medtech company Convatec and its former chemist, the panel reduced the company’s approved costs budget but questioned the effectiveness of the legislation.A UK measure for rewarding employee-inventors is “not fit for purpose,” judge Richard Arnold warned today, as the Court of Appeal resolved a previously undecided question about eligibility for compensation....

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