Differences between utility models and patents

Differences between utility models and patents

The main differences between utility models and patents are the following:

  • The requirements for acquiring a utility model are less stringent than for patents. While the requirement of "novelty" is always to be met, that of "inventive step" or "non-obviousness" may be much lower or absent altogether. In practice, protection for utility models is often sought for innovations of a rather incremental character, which may not meet the patentability criteria.
  • The term of protection for utility models is shorter than for patents and varies from country to country (usually between 7 and 10 years without the possibility of extension or renewal). In Turkey, the term of protection for utility models is 10 years.
  • In most countries where utility model protection is available, patent offices do not examine applications as to substance prior to registration. This means that the registration process is often significantly simpler and faster.
  • Utility models are much cheaper to obtain and to maintain.
  • In some countries, also in Turkey, utility model protection can only be obtained for certain fields of technology and only for products but not for processes.

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