Patent Application Encyclopedia

yes. Multiple designs are allowed in one design application, but no more than 50 designs.

• via Paris Convention : 6 months from earliest priority date.
• Hague Agreement route: 6 months from earliest priority date.

In Hungary, the following disclosures provide for a novelty grace period of 12 months:
- Disclosures resulting from abuse related to the applicant or his legal predecessors;
- the disclosure was made by the applicant, his predecessor or a third party (if the information was provided by the applicant or his predecessor).

Furthermore, if the design is disclosed to a third party under conditions of confidentiality, the disclosure will be disregarded.

10 years.

yes. The applicant may request that the patent type be converted from invention to utility model before the patent is granted.

yes

no

no

Novelty grace period of 12 months for inventors, their successors and third parties who have received information about the invention from the inventor/successors, through any form of communication or at national and international exhibitions .

no

yes. Multiple designs may be included in one design application.

The USPTO conducts formal and substantive examinations of patent applications. The substantive examination starts automatically, and the applicant does not need to submit a separate substantive examination request. The applicant is obliged to disclose through the Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) details of information that has an impact on the patentability of the invention, including but not limited to prior art, publications, sales records, etc. This obligation extends to the announcement of the grant of the patent or the withdrawal of the patent application. Failure to disclose significant prior art may result in the patentee being unable to enforce the underlying patent.

• No official fee is required if the IDS is filed within three months from the filing date or before the first office action is issued.
• An additional official fee is payable if the information cited in the IDS appeared in a foreign patent application three months before the filing of the IDS, or if the applicant or the applicant's representative completed the invention three months ago

• Grant fee: The applicant should pay the granted fee, registration fee and first annual fee within 4 months after receiving the granted decision.
• Annuity: pay year by year starting from the first year from the application date, the annual fee can be paid within a grace period of 6 months if the annual fee is overdue, and a 50% penalty must be paid at the same time.

yes. Designs in the same category, or belonging to the same set or combination of articles, may contain several designs in one design (this condition does not apply when the product containing or attached to the design is an ornament).

• via Paris Convention : 12 months from earliest priority date
• via Nationalization of PCT : 31 months from the earliest priority date (Applications may be filed within 3 months of expiry of the 31-month period, subject to payment of additional fees.)
• Ways to take effect in Europe: within 3 months of the European patent grant announcement date

• via Nationalization of PCT : 31 months from earliest priority date.
• via Paris Convention : 12 months from earliest priority date.

• Grant fee: The patent applicant should pay the granted fee within 3 months from the date of receiving the patent granted decision
• Annuity: The annual fee for the first year is paid at the same time as the granted fee. Subsequent annual fees should be paid within 6 months before the due date. Overdue annual fees can be paid within a 6-month grace period, and a 10% late fee will be paid at the same time