In German and Austrian patent laws, the Gebrauchsmuster, also known as German utility model or Austrian utility model, is a patent-like, intellectual property right protecting inventions. A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a person for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which is new, inventive, and... The stela of King Hammurabi depicts the god Shamash revealing a code of laws to the king. ... In law, intellectual property (IP) is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain types of information, ideas, or other intangibles in their expressed form. ... An invention is an object, patent, process, or technique which displays an element of novelty. ...

The Gebrauchsmuster is slightly different from the patent. It mainly differs from the patent in that processes and methods cannot be protected by a Gebrauchsmuster, only products can. Furthermore, the term of a Gebrauchsmuster, that is its maximal life time, is 10 years from the date of registration. In contrast, a patent has usually a term of 20 years from the date of filing of the application. The term of a patent is the maximum period during which it can be maintained into force. ...

Germany

The German utility model has some interesting characteristics, when compared to the German patent or to the European patent designating Germany: A utility model is an intellectual property right to protect inventions. ... The Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, commonly known as the European Patent Convention (EPC), is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to which European patents are granted. ...

• Prior art considered for examining novelty and inventive step is somewhat more limited:
  • Oral disclosures are not taken into account, only written disclosures are taken into account;
  • Public prior use outside Germany is not taken into account;
  • A six-month grace period before the priority date is provided for written disclosures or prior public use made by applicants or their predecessors in title.
• They are not substantially examined. Only registration is sufficient to obtain a utility model.

German utility models are however made available to the public directly when they are registered (Eintragungstag), i.e. before the publication date (Bekanntmachung). In contrast, patents are made available to the public 18 months after the filing date, unless the applicant requests early publication. In most patent laws, prior art or state of the art (the latter term sometimes has other meanings as well) is all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date. ... Novelty is a patentability test, according to which an invention is not patentable if it was already known before the date of filing, or before the date of priority if a priority is claimed, of the patent application. ... The inventive step and non-obviousness reflect a same general patentability requirement present in most patent laws, according to which an invention should be sufficiently inventive, i. ... The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, signed in Paris, France, on March 20, 1883, is an important and one of the first intellectual property treaties. ...

Austria

The Austrian utility model is similar to the German utility model. The main differences are:

• A search report is carried out within 6 to 8 months. No additional searching fee is required.
• The range of protection is broader than the German utility model. There is additional protection for:
  • Logic algorithm for computer software
  • Processes
  • Therapy methods for animals

Flowcharts are often used to graphically represent algorithms. ... A screenshot of computer software running in Windows XP. Software fundamentally is the unique image or representation of physical or material alignment that constitutes configuration to or functional identity of a machine, usually a computer. ...

See also

• Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (German Patent and Trade Mark Office)
• Geschmacksmuster (German industrial design right)
• Österreichisches Patentamt (Austian Patent and Trade Mark Office)

The Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (DPMA) or German Patent and Trade Mark Office (GPTO) is the German national patent office, with headquarters at Munich. ... In the German law, the Geschmacksmuster is the name of the industrial design right, an intellectual property right for protecting visual design of objects that are not purely utilitarian. ...

External links

• Utility model, basic principles, in the English section of the Austrian Patent Office web site
• Intellectual property links