yes
no
no
yes
1-6 months
- via Paris Convention : 12 months from earliest priority date.
- via Nationalization of PCT : 30 months from the earliest priority date.
- Validation of European Patent in EPO member states: 3 months from the date of European patent grant.
- Grant fee: The applicant should pay the granted fee, announcement fee and the first annual fee (that is, the annual fee for the first to third years) within 3 months after receiving the notification of the granted decision.
- Annuity: Pay year by year in the first year from the date of application. Overdue annual fee can be paid within a grace period of 6 months. At the same time, 30% of the year's annual fee will be paid as a late fee.
Reinstatement of priority is accepted on grounds of "due care."
The PPO only conducts formality examination of utility model patent applications, only examines novelty and industrial applicability, and does not examine inventive step.
10 years
4-5 years