Filing of utility models, in Italy and abroad

Invention patents last for 20 years and can be for a product, a process or the inventive use of a substance that is already known. The utility model patent, on the other hand, is an industrial property right that protects a new technical form of an industrial product. Therefore, while a new product can be an invention, the innovative improvement of the technical performance of an existing product is a utility model. The utility model has a duration of ten years and, like all intellectual property titles, must be registered with the competent offices, which vary according to the territorial area (national, European community or international) in which protection is required.

After conducting preliminary searches, filing a utility model is necessary to protect the technical and technological aspects of a product or process that has novelty, originality, applicability and reproducibility at the industrial level. Our professional patent team has experience in the academic, industrial and research and development sectors, and works with clients to develops global strategies that guarantee the utility model the widest possible protection, with maximum transparency and at the lowest costs possible. These activities take into account the required scope of protection, be it national (UIBM), community (EUIPO) or international (WIPO).

As with all intellectual property rights, the filing of a utility model is the best way to protect its use. Not filing a utility model, or doing so without taking the preliminary steps, increases the risk of not being in a position to protect the innovation against counterfeiting and, more generally, against indiscriminate use of it by third parties. In short, it would be a mistake that could cost the company both time and money.