The Supreme Court gave inventors a major victory Tuesday as it sided with a former employee of Olympus Optical Co. in his battle for more royalties from a crucial component in videodisc technology.
The top court said corporate workers have the right to be properly rewarded for their inventions, regardless of internal company rules regulating remuneration for inventions.
The former Olympus employee, whose name is being withheld, "can ask for payment (to cover) shortfalls, regardless of the provisions," presiding Judge Toyozo Ueda said, dismissing an appeal by the precision instrument maker and upholding lower court rulings that ordered the company to pay 2.3 million yen.