Utility Model Certificates

Under Part II of the Patents Act, 2003 (Act 657), the provisions relating to patents apply to utility model certificates with the following main differences: the criteria for protection are novelty and industrial applicability (no inventive step requirement); no substantive examination; duration of protection is seven years from the filing date without possibility of a renewal; there are different grounds for invalidating a utility certificate; and prior to grant or refusal, a patent application may be converted into an application for a utility model certificate, which shall be accorded the filing date of the initial application, or vice versa. An application for the conversion of a patent application to an application for a utility model certificate shall not be done more than once.