Utility models

Utility model registration

Legal protection of a utility model is granted through registration with the Patent Office. Registration shall take effect in respect of third parties from the date of publication in the Official Bulletin of the Patent Office.
The right of registration belongs to the person who has the right to apply according to art. 13 of the APRUM.

The following are not considered utility models

• discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;
• results of artistic creativity;
• plans, rules and methods for intellectual activity, for games or for business activity and computer programs;
• presentation of information.

The human body at the various stages of its formation and development, as well as the simple discovery of one of its elements, including the sequence or partial sequence of a gene, cannot constitute a patentable invention. An element isolated from the human body or otherwise obtained by a technical process, including a sequence or partial sequence of a gene, may constitute a patentable invention, even if the structure of this element is identical to that of a natural element.

Biotechnological inventions within the meaning of Art. 7a of APRUM, methods, chemical compounds or their use, as well as the objects under Art. 7 of the APRUM shall not be considered utility models.

Product claims

The product claim according to art. 19, para. 4 APRUM refers to a physical object (article, device, machine or system of interacting devices, as well as to substances or compositions). Product claims include elements, components, connections and / or relationships between elements, their mutual arrangement, materials from which the elements are made, and other features of the product, such as result, function, etc., in cases where this is the case. requires a clearer and more precise definition of its essence.

Advantages of protection with a utility registration certificate

The utility model registration certificate grants the holder exclusive rights, ie. the right to prohibit the use of the invention, subject to the patent granted by third parties for a certain period of time (10 years from the date of filing the application for registration of a utility model) without its permission in the territory where the registration is valid. The exclusive right to the registered utility model includes the right to use the utility model, the prohibition of third parties to use it without the consent of the certificate holder and the right to dispose of the utility model registration certificate. 

The legal scope of protection is determined by the claims in the issued utility registration certificate.

The effect of the patent does not extend to:

• use of the patented utility model for non-commercial purposes in view of personal needs, provided that it does not cause significant material damage to the holder of the registration certificate;
• use of the utility model for experimental or research purposes related to the subject matter of the registration protected utility model;
• one-time immediate preparation of a medicinal product in a pharmacy on a doctor's prescription;
• use of the protected utility model in foreign land, sea and air vehicles, which temporarily or accidentally enter the land, sea or air territory of the country, provided that the protected utility model is used exclusively for the needs of these vehicles.