22382-22388
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE
SECTION 22382-22388
22382. The provisions of this chapter are not exclusive and do not relieve the parties or the contract subject thereto from compliance with all other applicable provisions of law. 22383. Any contract for invention development services which does not comply with the applicable provisions of this chapter shall be void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy, provided that no contract shall be void and unenforceable if the invention developer proves that noncompliance was unintentional and resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding the use of reasonable procedures adopted to avoid any such errors and makes an appropriate correction. 22384. Any contract for invention development services entered into in reliance upon any willful and false, fraudulent, or misleading representation by the invention developer shall be void and unenforceable. 22385. Any waiver by the customer of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed contrary to public policy and shall be void and unenforceable. 22386. Any person who has been injured by a violation of this chapter by an invention developer, or by any false or fraudulent statement, representation, or omission of material fact by an invention developer, or by failure of an invention developer to make all the disclosures required by Section 22379, may bring a civil action against the invention developer for the greater of the following amounts: (1) Three thousand dollars ($3,000). (2) Three times the amount of the actual damages, if any, sustained by the plaintiff. In addition to the greater of the preceding amounts, the court may award reasonable attorney's fees to the plaintiff. 22387. Any invention developer who willfully violates any provision of this chapter, or willfully enters an invention development contract which omits any duty or disclosure required by this chapter, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Any superior court of this state shall have jurisdiction in equity to restrain and enjoin the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter relating to invention development services and contracts therefor. The duty to institute actions for violation of such provisions of this chapter, including equity proceedings to restrain and enjoin such violations, is hereby vested in the Attorney General, district attorneys, county counsels, and city attorneys. The Attorney General, any district attorney, or city attorney may prosecute misdemeanor actions or institute equity proceedings or both. This section shall not be deemed to prohibit the enforcement by any person of any right provided by this or any other law. 22388. Failure to make the disclosure required by Article 4 (commencing with Section 22380) shall render any contract subsequently entered into between the customer and the invention developer voidable by the customer.