The 4th edition takes into account not only the recent higher court rulings on employee invention rights and issues related to BVW idea management but also the increasing influences of European law on employee invention rights, such as the EU unitary patent, the consequences of Brexit, and the EU Trade Secrets Directive, as well as the recent reform of the Copyright Act and its impact on employee authors. Other focal points of the new edition include, among others, the review of general terms and conditions in remuneration agreements, the permissibility of internal company remuneration guidelines and flat-rate remuneration policies, inventor compensation in corporate use, co-inventorship and the distinction from so-called double invention, as well as the special provision of Section 69b of the Copyright Act for computer programs in employment relationships and the special provision for university inventors, particularly in R&D contracts or the assignment of intellectual property rights by the employer.