Utility modeland patent: similarities
The utility model is very similar to the patent and is often regarded as the “small patent”. Utility models and patents have similarities, for example:
- Technical objects such as machines, devices, circuits, appliances and their parts as well as chemical products, e.g. plastic granulates, artificial fertilizers or pharmaceuticals can be protected; processes are not accessible to utility model protection.
- Protection in the form of the right to prohibit and the like vis-à-vis third parties is comparable.
- The structure and content of the applications are comparable, as is the effort involved in preparing and submitting the application documents.
Utility model and patent: differences
Differences between utility models and patents are e.g:
- The utility model has a term of 10 years from the date of filing compared to 20 years from the date of filing for a patent.
- The protection of the utility model usually begins with its registration approximately two months after the date of filing, whereas the protection of the patent only begins with its grant, which can take one to several years from the date of filing.
- Processes are excluded from utility model protection, but can be protected by a patent together with the products directly manufactured using them.
- The utility model is an unexamined property right, i.e. it is registered without a substantive examination of protectability, which is why it makes sense to carry out your own search for existing relevant property rights instead of an official search. The examination of protectability may then only take place later in the course of cancellation proceedings and/or when asserting an infringement of property rights.
- If a technical invention has already been made public by the applicant, a utility model can still be obtained for up to six months afterwards (grace period); however, it is no longer possible to grant a patent for this invention as it has already been published and is therefore no longer new
The benefits of a utility model compared to a patent
Depending on the situation, it may make sense to apply for a patent or a utility model – in Germany, however, both applications can also be pursued in parallel, at least temporarily (with essentially only a one-off effort to prepare the application documents themselves), in order to obtain protection quickly through registration as a utility model and yet be able to assert one’s own interests in the long term through a granted patent as an examined property right with greater legal certainty.