Utility model law & design patent law

Utility model law and design patent law deal with the industrial property rights of utility models and designs.

Industrial property rights make it possible to protect intellectual creations and intellectual works from unauthorized use by third parties. In addition to more well-known examples such as the patent or trademark, these industrial property rights also include less well-known ones such as the utility model or the design patent.

A utility model protects technical inventions in utility model law and design patent law, just as with patents. The main difference is that the application is not subject to such high requirements as a patent and the utility model can be registered more quickly and cheaply, but the level of protection is not quite as high. It is also referred to as a “small patent” in utility model law and design patent law.

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By registering a design patent, you can have specially developed aesthetic designs (e.g. two- or three-dimensional shapes, design, colors, etc.) of products protected under utility model law and design patent law.

In terms of utility model law and design patent law, both utility models and design patents must be registered with the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA). In contrast to the patent, there is no European or international utility model application. Designs, on the other hand, can be registered under utility model law and design patent law throughout the EU as a community design or as an international design.