Patent Application Encyclopedia

• Licensing Fee: None.
• Annuity: The renewal fee is paid every 5 years. The renewal fee must be paid within 6 months before the last day of the month when the registration expires. The grace period for the penalty is 6 months, and the penalty must be paid at the same time.

no

yes. The applicant may request to change the patent type from utility model to invention before the utility model patent application is granted.

• via Paris Convention : 12 months from earliest priority date.
• via Nationalization of PCT : 30 months from the earliest priority date.

• Grant fee: The applicant shall pay the annual fee of the granted year at the same time after receiving the granted notice.
• Annuity: payable year by year from the first year onwards from the application date.

• Grant fee: The applicant shall pay the granted announcement fee within 2 months from the date of issuance of the granted decision notice.
• Annuity: Pay year by year starting from the fifth year, the payment date of the fifth year annual fee is the public day or international public day of the fourth year, and so on. Fees can be paid within 3 months before the due date of payment. If the patentee fails to pay the annual fee on time, the non-payment notice will be published on the official announcement, and the fee can be paid within a grace period of 6 months after the expiration, but a penalty must be paid at the same time.

no

Reinstatement of priority is accepted on grounds of "due care."

no

yes. The applicant may request that the patent application be changed from an invention to a utility model before the publication of the patent application but no later than the grant decision.

If the disclosure is caused by the inventor or the information source of the discloser is the inventor; or if the disclosure occurs again after being disclosed by the above-mentioned subject, the patent enjoys a novelty grace period within 12 months before the filing date/priority date.

6-8 months

no

• Grant fee: The applicant shall pay the granted registration fee within 3 months after receiving the notification of granted decision.
• Annuity: Three annual fees shall be paid in the 3.5th year, 7.5 years and 11.5 years from the date of granted, and the payment may be postponed within 6 months after the overdue period, but 25% of the annual fee of the current year shall be paid at the same time as a penalty.

The invention does not lose its novelty if the inventor, or a third party who directly or indirectly obtains relevant information from the inventor, discloses the invention information within 12 months before the filing date/priority date.

Japan Patent Office

English: Japan Patent Office, abbreviation: JPO

Website: Japan Patent Office (jpo.go.jp)

Japanese Utility Model Patent Search: Japan Platform for Patent Information｜J-PlatPat [JPP] (inpit.go.jp)

UIBM only conducts formality examination of design patent applications, and does not examine novelty and uniqueness.