Comparative law notes
At first glance, this German phrase seems very straight-forward and means merely "the result of work" ("Ergebnis einer Arbeit", Duden). However, the phrase often appears in the context of processing certain items of personal property (physical material) and determining who owns the personal property once it has been so processed and modified. An Arbeitsergebnis in those situations is considered a kind of "work product". Specifically, the German Civil Code proclaims under sec. 950 BGB that a new item of personal property that is produced by the employee by virtue of processing or transforming semi-finished or finished products will typically be considered owned by the employer. In those cases, we recommend using "work product" instead of "work result", which is a broader and more fluid phrase.
