UTILITY MODELS
"National novelty" required
The following can be protected by a UTILITY MODEL: a tool, an instrument, an apparatus, a device or part of the same.
Utility Models are granted for 10 years after they are applied for and cannot be renewed. Once their legal life ends, they become part of the public domain, as occurs with patents. Once granted, annual maintenance fees will also have to be paid.
Utility Models present less inventive step than what is required for Patents.
The following outline shows the possible incidents that may occur during the process of filing for a Utility Model.
The following cannot be the subject matter of a PATENT or UTILITY MODEL: discoveries, scientific theories or mathematical methods, economic-commercial methods, computer programs, animal or plant breeds.
Nor can literary, artistic or scientific works be protected because they are legally protected by means of Intellectual Property rights alone.
For a PATENT or UTILITY MODEL to be granted, the description and drawings must be sufficiently described. For this reason it is advisable to work with an INDUSTRIAL AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AGENT who can suitably write the specification so that it complies with all the legal requirements.
The right to obtain protection of an invention is always the responsibility of the inventor who first filed in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. Once the patent is granted in Spain, protection will only be effective for the Spanish territory. If the inventor wishes to protect the patent internationally, protection can also be applied for in other countries claiming the right originating with the Spanish application.
The European Patent Convention has been in force in Spain since October 1, 1986. This Convention seeks to aid in and reinforce the protection of inventions, reducing the costs of protecting them by means of a single European grant procedure which grants protection in the States designated by the applicant.
The European Patent Convention contemplates a single centralized patent grant procedure and unique grounds for revocation common to all the signing States such that after the patent is granted, there will be a single text. A European Patent therefore will be converted into a group of national patents with the same effects as a national patent.
European Patents are all processed in the European Patent Office located in Munich with departments in other European cities. Some or all of the following countries can be included:
AUSTRIA |
BELGIUM |
BULGARIA |
CROATIA |
CZECH REP. |
CYPRUS |
DENMARK |
ESTONIA |
FINLAND |
FRANCE |
GERMANY |
GREECE |
HUNGARY |
ICELAND |
IRELAND |
ITALY |
LATVIA |
LITHUANIA |
LUXEMBURG |
MALTA |
MONACO |
NETHERLANDS |
NORWAY |
POLAND |
PORTUGAL |
ROMANIA |
SLOVAKIA |
SLOVENIA |
SPAIN |
SWEDEN |
SWITZERLAND/
LIECHTENSTEIN |
TURKEY |
UNITED KINGDOM |
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It is also possible to extend a European Patent into several East European countries such as:
ALBANIA |
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA |
MACEDONIA |
SERBIA |
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) has been in force in Spain since 1989 and is administered by the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). The purpose of this Convention is for the member States of the Treaty to form a Union to cooperate in the FILING, SEARCH AND EXAMINATION of patent applications.
The PCT opens up the possibility of prolonging the decision to extend protection of the patent in each country and to obtain, within a relatively short time period, a detailed International Search Report (Phase I) and an international examination (Phase II) which allows evaluating the possibilities that the patent will be granted.
About 100 countries from the five continents are part of this Convention.
These patents are processed individually and independently in each country.
The priority of an earlier application (Patent or Utility Model) filed in Spain can be used to file for a National Patent in a certain country.
