deutsches Gebrauchsmuster Archive - Patentanwälte Weisse, Moltmann & Willems

German Utility Model: What official fees are charged by the DPMA?

The German utility model is particularly attractive for many technical IP protection strategies primarily because it can be registered relatively quickly. Unlike a patent, the DPMA does not comprehensively examine before registration whether the invention is actually new and inventive. Precisely for that reason, the utility model is not a “small patent,” but an independent intellectual property right with its own fee structure.

Dec 29 2023

AMENDMENT TO THE PROHIBITION ON DOUBLE PROTECTION

Until 31 May 2023, German law prohibited double protection (referred to as “prohibition on double protection”) for national patents and European patents. Accordingly, it was not possible to obtain protection under a national patent for an invention in respect of which a European patent with the same priority and the same scope had been granted to the same inventor with effect in the Federal Republic of Germany. The national patent became ineffective if the inventor had been granted a European patent for the same invention that could not be revoked in opposition proceedings any more.

AMENDMENT TO THE PROHIBITION ON DOUBLE PROTECTION read more