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1 results

  • 6 - Utility Models in Germany and Switzerland

  • from Part I - Utility Model Laws and Practices around the World
  • Edited by Jorge L. Contreras, University of Utah
  • Book:
    Sub-Patent Innovation Rights
    Published online:
    06 February 2025
    Print publication:
    13 February 2025, pp 109-116
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  • Summary

    In Germany, the utility model is a type of intellectual property right that provides protection for novel and useful inventions. It is governed by the German Utility Model Act (“Gebrauchsmustergesetz” – GebrMG) which was enacted in 1891, making it the oldest still-existing utility model system in the world. Utility models grant the right holder exclusive control over the use and commercialisation of an invention for a period of ten years from the date of filing, subject to the payment of annual renewal fees. In a way, the utility model is the “little sister” of a full-fledged patent (also called a “petty patent”), protecting the same type of subject matter (technical inventions) with a more limited scope.