Utility Models
A utility model is a registered right which gives its owner exclusive protection for an invention, similar to a patent. Most other European states have some form of utility model system as well as their patent system, but the precise forms of these systems vary widely.
In general, an invention must be new, involve an inventive step, and lend itself to industrial application to be protected by a utility model. The level of inventiveness required is generally lower than that for a patent. Also, utility models may be granted without examination to establish that these conditions have been met. This means that protection could be obtained more quickly and at less cost than with a patent, but on the other hand it would have less legal certainty and the term of protection is usually shorter than a patent. The United Kingdom (UK) does not have a utility model system at the moment.
In 2001 the European Commission (EC) carried out a consultation on the possibility of a proposed Community-wide utility model. This would be a unitary right which would apply in all European Union (EU) Member States in addition to the existing national rights which are only valid for each individual country.
Existing utility model systems would not be changed by this proposal (and so the Community utility model would be the only such right in the UK ). This contrasts with the discussions in 2000 on an EC Directive that would harmonise these systems and introduce systems in EU countries like the UK, which do not have at the moment.
