yes. As long as the application is not abandoned, the patent type can be converted from utility model to invention within 3 months of filing the utility model patent application, or within 3 months from the date when IMPI requires the applicant to make the conversion, after paying the relevant fees.
As a PCT filing office, it accepts the restoration of the right of priority on the grounds of "unintentional".
IMPI conducts formal and substantive examinations of utility model patent applications. However, the requirements for substantive examination are relatively loose, only novelty and industrial applicability are required, but innovation is not required.
6-8 months
yes
3-5 years
no
A 12-month novelty grace period applies if the inventor or his successor has communicated in any form, put the design into practice or made it public at national and international exhibitions.
1-2 years
- via Paris Convention : 6 months from earliest priority date.
- Hague Agreement route: 6 months from earliest priority date.
20 years