The Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry of Economy, in collaboration with the Intellectual Property Institute of Luxembourg (IPIL GIE), is organising today, Tuesday 25 April, the 15th edition of the Luxembourg Intellectual Property Day. Under the title “Intellectual Property, an economic stake”, the event will focus on the interest of intellectual property in the context of the dual green and digital transition of the national, European and international economy.

This is a good opportunity to recall a recent judgment of the Luxembourg Court of Cassation (Judgment No. 02/23). In it, the Court of Cassation clarified the issue of the transfer of intellectual property rights, stating that in the absence of a written document, the transfer of an author’s economic rights is deemed not to have taken place, even in the context of an employment contract.

This ruling highlights the importance of intellectual property contracts containing precise and detailed clauses on the scope of the rights granted or transferred, even though an employment contract does not automatically transfer intellectual property rights. Rather, it is important to include clear clauses in employment contracts in order to avoid disputes. The Court of Cassation relied on the 2011 Copyright Law, which requires that any transfer or succession of the author’s economic rights be evidenced in writing and interpreted restrictively in favour of the author.

However, the Copyright Law contains a provision for computer programs: If an employee creates a computer program in the course of his or her employment, only the employer has the right to exercise the economic rights associated with the program. It should be noted, however, that this exception does not apply to other types of copyright, such as text, photographs, graphics, plans or videos.