- via Paris Convention : 6 months from earliest priority date.
- Hague Agreement route: 6 months from earliest priority date.
- EU appearance route: 6 months from the earliest priority date.
A novelty grace period of 6 months is available if:
- Disclosures caused at officially organized or officially sanctioned international exhibitions
- Disclosure resulting from being made public for reasons related to the misuse of the inventor or its predecessor owner
- via Paris Convention : 6 months from earliest priority date.
- Hague Agreement route: 6 months from earliest priority date.
- EU appearance route: 6 months from the earliest priority date.
25 years
no
12-14 months
no
If the disclosure is caused by the designer, the novelty grace period is 12 months from the date of disclosure.
yes. Before the applicant has received a final decision, an application to change the type of invention from a utility model to an invention may be proposed.
- via Paris Convention : 12 months from earliest priority date.
- via Nationalization of PCT : 30 months from the earliest priority date.
- Validation of European Patent in EPO member states: within 3 months from the date of granted of the European invention.
yes. Before the applicant receives the final decision, it may be proposed to change the type of invention from invention to utility model.