Reinstatement of priority is accepted on grounds of "due care."
The initial protection is 6 years, which can be extended twice, up to a maximum of 10 years.
no
- via Paris Convention : 6 months from earliest priority date.
- Hague Agreement route: 6 months from earliest priority date.
- EU appearance route: 6 months from the earliest priority date.
If the disclosure is caused by the designer, the novelty grace period is 12 months from the date of disclosure.
12-14 months
3 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: within 3 months from the date of granted of the European invention.
INPI only conducts formality examination of utility model patent applications. Substantive examination may only be requested if the applicant deems it necessary. An invention protected by a patent can be protected simultaneously or successively with a utility model. To this end, applicants have a maximum of 1 year to make changes.
25 years
- via Paris Convention : 12 months from earliest priority date.
- via Nationalization of PCT : 30 months from the earliest priority date.