Russia Mandates Bonuses for "Service Inventions"

Amendments to Part 4 of Russia's Civil Code require monetary payments for "service inventions" (those created by an employee in connection with their employment duties or specific tasks of the employer).  The reward system, which previously had been left to the discretion of the employer, now requires the bonus to be at least 30% of the average wage of the worker, and for industrial designs not less than 20% of the worker's salary.  The right to patent any invention remains in the employer.   Although some believe the new incentives may stimulate inventive activity, Irina Abankina, director of the Higher School of Economics, does not consider the minor measures particularly useful.  According to Abankina, the gap between activities of developers or universities and business needs remains a big problem, and the need to identify the practical value of future inventions remains critical.

http://izvestia.ru/news/563800