2020 Delaware Code
Title 19 - Labor
Chapter 8. Protection of Employees’ Rights
§ 805 Employee's right to certain inventions.

Universal Citation:
19 DE Code § 805. (2020)
Learn more This media-neutral citation is based on the American Association of Law Libraries Universal Citation Guide and is not necessarily the official citation.
§ 805. Employee's right to certain inventions.

Any provision in an employment agreement which provides that the employee shall assign or offer to assign any of the employee's rights in an invention to the employee's employer shall not apply to an invention that the employee developed entirely on the employee's own time without using the employer's equipment, supplies, facility or trade secret information, except for those inventions that:

(1) Relate to the employer's business or actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development; or

(2) Result from any work performed by the employee for the employer.

To the extent a provision in an employment agreement purports to apply to the type of invention described, it is against the public policy of this State and is unenforceable. An employer may not require a provision of an employment agreement made unenforceable under this section as a condition of employment or continued employment.

64 Del. Laws, c. 257, § 1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 
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