The creation of prototypes by employees during their employment contract makes some employers insecure. The possibility of filing a labor lawsuit to obtain compensation arising from the development of inventions is one of the relevant points that justify this concern.

In this context, CHENUT’s labor team was called in to evaluate and define strategies for a lawsuit that sought, among other things, recognition of the development of a new invention by the former employee. The lawsuit demanded that the company be ordered to pay compensation related to the invention for life, 50% of the profits related to the invention and payment of moral damages, totaling a million-dollar claim.

What was expected from Chenut

Our team’s challenge was to build a solid defense strategy, since the arguments and evidence used by the worker initially showed that the lawsuit was potentially well-founded.

In addition, this was a delicate case, because if the case was upheld, it could lead to a series of new lawsuits against our client using the same argument.

What we did

We drew up an argument that consolidated the thesis that the invention was only a prototype and an approach that demonstrated that the Complainant’s idea was not innovative.

The line of defense was built by linking legal intelligence to our client’s internal areas, which together gathered sufficient evidence and arguments to demonstrate the non-existence of an invention.

The transformation

In this scenario, claims such as corollary profits and moral damages were dismissed, resulting in a conviction only to pay compensation for functional improvement and a conventional fine, which drastically reduced the amounts initially claimed.