The PPO only conducts formality examination of utility model patent applications, only examines novelty and industrial applicability, and does not examine inventive step.
yes
- Grant fee: The applicant should pay the announcement fee and the first annual fee (that is, the annual fee for the first to fifth years) within 3 months after receiving the notification of the granted decision.
- Annuity: Pay the annual fee for the next 5 years every 5 years. If the annual fee is overdue, you can pay it within a grace period of 3 months, and pay 30% of the annual fee for the current year as a late fee.
1-6 months
10 years
no
yes
A 6-month novelty grace period is available if the disclosure is caused by a third party in bad faith.
- 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.
The PPO only conducts formality examination of utility model patent applications, only examines novelty and industrial applicability, and does not examine inventive step.
yes