Develop an IPR strategy

Searches and preliminary evaluations: Utility models

This can be done either by having our patent agent conduct a preliminary examination of the utility model application or requesting that the National Board of Patents and Registration investigate whether the registered utility model fulfils all statutory requirements. Requests may be submitted to the authorities for as long as the registration remains valid.

An official investigation is conducted in two phases: in the first phase the authority examines known similar solutions, and in the second it makes a ruling on whether the invention is sufficiently distinctive from these known solutions. Because the investigation is conducted by a state authority, the results are public domain.

If you choose to have one of our attorneys conduct a preliminary examination instead of going through an official investigation, the results will only be in your possession.

When should I request a preliminary examination?

A preliminary examination of your own utility model should be conducted by a patent agent or patent authority especially if:

• a competitor is making use of an invention specified in the utility model, or
• you want to stop any competitor actions involving utilisation of the invention as quickly as possible, or
• no more than (approx.) 8 months have passed since submission of the application and the intention is to expand the protection range to include foreign countries during the priority year, or
• the competitor continues actions that utilise the invention while aware of the utility model.

A third party should correspondingly have a patent attorney conduct a preliminary novelty search or request the National Board of Patents and Registration to investigate whether the invention specified in the utility model differs significantly from what was previously known (which is a requirement for valid protection) if:

• the third party has received a warning notice concerning utility model infringement and
• the third party's own product is similar to the invention protected by the utility model and
• the third party is uncertain as to whether the invention described in the utility model can be proved to be previously known based on data in possession of the third party.