12-14 months
- Licensing Fee: None.
- Annuity: pay once every 5 years, and must be paid within 6 months before the due date of the application. If the annual fee is overdue, it can be paid within a grace period of 6 months, and a 50% penalty is required.
20 years
INPI only conducts formality examination of design patent applications.
yes. Before the applicant has received a final decision, an application to change the type of invention from a utility model to an invention may be proposed.
no
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 : 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.
The initial protection is 6 years, which can be extended twice, up to a maximum of 10 years.
Reinstatement of priority is accepted on grounds of "due care."