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| Short Term Protection for Short Life-Cycle-Products? |
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How to protect devices, equipment, electronic circuits, engineering-products, appliances, household-goods, toys and other products having an expected life-span of less than 5 years: a utility model may be the answer.
In many countries, there is no examination for utility models (UM). A utility model may be considered valid in some countries, even if the subject matter was used publicly in another country. In this respect, the preconditions for validity can be more accommodating than with a patent. |
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| Also, the registration and protection of a UM may be accomplished as quickly as 6 to 8 weeks - compared with 2 to 4 years for a patent-examination. The duration may be as short as ten years and annuities are mostly rather inexpensive. Utility models have a distinct place in brand protection. Unfortunately, UM-protection is not available in the United States, but it may be procured in countries like Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Poland, Austria, Japan and others. |
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