Sammy Hagar reportedly claimed that the lyrics for “Right Now” were the best he ever wrote for a Van Halen song. It’s doubtful that Sammy was thinking about invention assignments when he penned the song, but the lyrics do offer spot-on advice for companies wanting to ensure that they own the patents containing employee inventions. You don’t believe it? Listen up:
Right now,
C’mon, it’s everything
Right now,
Catch a magic moment, do it.
Right here and now
It means everything.
Miss the beat, you lose the rhythm,
And nothing falls into place, no
Only missed by a fraction . . .
It’s all there. To own the patents claiming employee inventions, a company should have an employment agreement with language transferring ownership of inventions “right now.” The choice of language “means everything.” Use the right language, and the company can “catch a magic moment” in which title automatically transfers upon an employee’s creation of an invention. Use the wrong language, and potentially “nothing falls into place”—the company may lack standing to sue or claim damages or its transaction could fall apart.
