Processing of applications at PRH
The processing of utility model applications starts as soon as we have received your application. First, we carry out a formal examination and then we check if your invention is valid for registration.
Please note: We do not examine the novelty and inventiveness of your invention and therefore you are solely responsible for fulfilling the conditions.
Steps in the application procedure; proceed by clicking the header:
- Formal examination
- Registrability check
- How to respond to possible office actions
- Registration and publication
- Possible rejections and appeals
1. Formal examination
We begin the processing by making sure that your application includes all necessary documents and that the application fee has been paid.
If we have not received all documents or the application fee has not been paid, we will send you a letter that explains why your application does not meet our formal requirements. The letter - an office action - is a decision that we take during the application process, but it is not the final decision.
You have two months to respond and correct the deficiencies.
2. Registrability check
After the formal examination we check the registrability of your invention, in other words if the invention relates to a technical solution that is industrially applicable.
We also check that the invention does not refer to
discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods
aesthetic creations
schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business
computer programs
presentation of data.
A utility model cannot be granted to
plant varieties
animal breeds
methods
an invention, whose use is considered to be against morality or public order.
We also check that
the application text fulfils all the requirements set
the claims describe one invention only
the description of the invention is so clear that it would enable those skilled in the art to use the invention.
If you have to make corrections to the application documents, we will send you a letter that explains why your application does not meet our formal requirements. The letter - an office action - is a decision that we take during the application process, but it is not the final decision.
You have two months to respond and correct the deficiencies.
Please note: We will examine the novelty and inventiveness of the invention included in the utility model application only by separate request. In such a case, we will carry out a novelty search which is a completely separate search from the registrability check. Read more.
3. How to respond to possible office actions
Please include the utility model application number in your response. The number allows us to forward your response to the appropriate examiner.
Respond to an office action with a covering letter including the required enclosures to correct the deficiencies: required documents, copy of the receipt of payment or a new set of claims. To speed up the processing, you may wish to inform us briefly what changes and corrections you have made to the application.
Send us the corrected application so that your response will reach us before or on the date given in the office action.
If you fail to correct the deficiencies mentioned by the above deadline, the application will be dismissed, meaning that we stop processing it. A dismissed utility model application can be reinstated, but only once. Therefore, you should correct the deficiencies and pay the prescribed reinstatement fee. Always respond to office actions by the deadline.
All the deficiencies in the office action and all other requested measures must be sorted out thoroughly. Repeated negligence of corrections leads to the rejection of the application.
4. Registration and publication
Upon acceptance of your application, we will enter it in the utility model register and send you a registration certificate. We will announce the registration in the Utility Model Gazette. Go to the Utility Model Gazette. Open link in a new tab
You can get copies of registered utility models or of utility model application documents made available to the public for a fee. Read more about our library services.
Use our free Patent Information Service to take a closer look at the documents that have become available to the public. The Patent Information Service contains online application folders for applications filed on or after 1 January 2007. Go to the Patent Information Service.Open link in a new tab
Application documents become public on the registration date or within 15 months from the filing date or the priority date. On the applicant’s request the application documents may become public even earlier. Read more about the postponement of registration.
The application documents will not become public if the application is dismissed (processing is ended), cancelled or rejected before 15 months has lapsed from the filing date or the priority date or before the application has been registered.
5. Rejections and appeals
We always provide a chance to correct the deficiencies in applications. If the application does not meet our requirements after our invitation to correct, we will reject it.
You can appeal against the rejection to the Finnish Market Court within 60 days after service of the decision. If the Market Court rejects the application, the decision can be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court, if leave to appeal is granted.