Your example refers to the Arbeitnehmererfindungsgesetz (ususally abbreviated as ArbNErfG)(
http://bundesrecht.juris.de/bundesrecht/arbnerfg/), which might be translated as Inventions by Employees Act. In this context, "Erfindungsmeldung" is indeed a set expression.
If an employee makes an invention (arising from his work for that company) that can be protected by an industrial property right ("gewerbliches Schutzrecht", within the scope of the ArbNErfG this refers only to patents or registered designs), he is obliged to report the invention to his employer according to § 5 ArbNerfG (that's what "Erfindungsmeldung" means). In turn, the employer is obliged to have the invention patented in Germany ("Schutzrechtanmeldung im Inland", § 13) or abdicate his right to do so. The employer can also choose if he wants to have it patented in foreign countries ("Schutzrechtansmeldung im Ausland" = "Auslandsanmeldung", § 14) or leave that to the employee. If the employer is not interested in an industrial property right (anymore), he may abdicate his right ("Aufgabe des Schutzrechts" = "Schutzrechtsaufgabe", § 16), then it is up to the employee do decide on what to do with his invention.