Intellectual property object "Useful model" is a technical solution protected by a patent issued for a period of 10 years.
At its core, a Utility Model is a "small invention", that is, one small part of the Invention can be protected as a Utility Model.
The Utility Model has only two criteria of patentability - "novelty" and "industrial applicability", which makes its registration easier and faster than registration of the Invention.
In global practice, not all countries protect this intellectual property object. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), only 97 countries in the world have this right. In some of these countries, it is possible to obtain a patent for either an Invention or a Utility Model.
In general, all countries that register Utility Models can be divided into countries with explicit examination and countries with examination examination.
In the case of a safeguard system, applications for Utility Models undergo only formal verification.
In the case of verification expertise, applications for Utility Models undergo a more thorough verification, namely, an information search is carried out on applications. An international utility model application filed under the PCT procedure may not be transferred to the “national” phase in all countries. For example, in France, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, such a transition in the form of an application for a Utility Model is not provided. Such conditions can be circumvented by converting the application for an invention into an application for a utility model, or by filing a divisional application for a utility model. At the same time, the possibility of such transformation of the application is not available in all countries.
It should be noted that for the successful registration of the Utility Model in the world, you should carefully analyze and clarify all possible nuances of registration in the country you need.
