Patents for Inventions and Utility Models and Applications for Them

Patenting technical solutions plays a key role in protecting intellectual property. Obtaining a patent for inventions and utility models allows companies to maintain their competitiveness in the market, monetize their developments and attract investment in the company, which is an important tool for companies for sustainable and reliable growth of their business.

At the same time, an important aspect in the protection of intellectual property objects is determining what kind of object of patent law a technical solution: an invention or a utility model.

In addition, it is necessary to understand in which cases a patent is needed and how to patent a technical solution in order to maximally protect your interests.

Differences between invention, utility model and industrial design

A technical solution in any field is protected as an invention if it pertains to a product (in particular, a device, substance, microorganism strain, or a plant or animal cell culture) or a method (a process involving actions on a material object using material means), including the use of a product or method for a specific purpose (Par. 1, Art.1350 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

A technical solution is protected as a utility model if it pertains to a device (Par. 1, Art.1351 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

A solution concerning the appearance of an industrial or handicraft product is protected as an industrial design (Par. 1, Art. 1352 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Legal protection is granted to a solution as a utility model if it is new (on a global level) and industrially applicable; as an invention, if it additionally exhibits an inventive step (i.e., it is not obvious to a specialist); and as an industrial design, if it is new and original.

The significant features of an industrial design include those that define the aesthetic characteristics of the product’s appearance, in particular the shape, configuration, ornamentation, color combinations, lines, contours, textures, or materials of the product.

Features determined solely by the technical function of the product are not protected as attributes of an industrial design.

An industrial design is original if its essential features are determined by the creative nature of the product's features, in particular if, from information that has become publicly available in the world prior to the priority date of the industrial design, no solution to the appearance of a product of a similar purpose is known that produces on an informed consumer the same general impression as that produced by the industrial design, reflected in the images of the product's appearance.

When choosing an object of patent law, it is also worth considering the validity period of the patent. A patent for an invention is valid for 20 years, for an industrial design - 25 years, and for a utility model - 10 years, subject to timely payment of fees for maintaining the patent in force.

Next, we will consider in more detail only inventions and utility models that are determined exclusively by a technical function.

How is an application for an invention and a utility model formed and in what cases is a patent needed?

An application for an invention/utility model is formed from the following documents:

1. An application for a patent, which specifies the author of the invention/utility model, the applicant who, upon receiving the patent, will have exclusive rights to the invention/model, as well as the places of residence (or location) of the applicant and the author.
2. Consent to the processing of the applicant's personal data.
3. A description of the invention/utility model, which must disclose the essence of the invention with sufficient completeness for its implementation by a specialist in the given field of technology.
4. The formula of the invention/utility model, which must clearly express its essence and be entirely based on its description. The formula is the most important part of the application, since it is with its help that the scope of legal protection provided by the patent is determined.
5. An abstract of an invention/utility model, which is a brief technical description of the invention/utility model.
6. Drawings and other materials, if they are necessary for understanding the essence of the invention/utility model.
7. Documents confirming payment of the relevant fees for application registration and substantive examination. The amounts of state fees are:

• registration of an application for an invention - 4000 rubles + 1000 rubles for each claim of the invention over 10;
• registration of an application for a utility model - 2,000 rubles + 1,000 rubles for each point of the utility model formula over 10;
• examination of an application for an invention on the merits - 14,000 rubles + 10,000 rubles for each independent claim over 1;
• examination of the application for a utility model on the merits – 3000 rubles.

Companies need to obtain patents for their developments (technical solutions) for:

• protection of intellectual property - a patent grants its owner the exclusive right to use, produce and sell a technical solution;
• preventing copying and illegal use - a patent protects the copyright holder and prevents illegal use of the technical solution by other persons or organizations;
• monetization of your technical solution and making a profit;
• creating a company's reputation - the presence of patented technical solutions indicates the company's high activity in innovative activities.

How does the patenting of an invention and a utility model happen?

Before filing an application, Zuykov and partners recommends conducting a preliminary international patent search to determine the patentability of your technical solution in order to identify existing analogues or similar technical solutions in the Russian Federation and other countries and assess the chances of success. Based on the results of the search, you will receive a report with recommendations on the feasibility of patenting your technical solution and proposals for choosing the object of patenting from the specialists of Zuykov and partners.

The procedure for patenting inventions and utility models in Rospatent includes three main stages:

1. Formal examination of the application: 1-2 months from the date of application;
2. Substantive examination of the application: 6-8 months from the date of a positive decision of the formal examination;
3. Registration and issuance of a patent: 1-2 months from the date of payment of the relevant fees.

In the event of non-compliance of the application materials with the established Requirements, at the stages of the formal examination and examination of the application on the merits, the expert of the department may send requests for the purpose of providing additional materials.

Based on the above, it can be concluded that the procedure for patenting inventions and utility models is a rather complex process.

Experts and patent attorneys from Zuykov and partners will help you understand such a complex process. They take into account all the nuances in their work, competently draw up all the necessary documents for filing an application and calculate fees, and take all possible actions to obtain a patent for you.