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UTILITY MODEL IN DENMARK

After preparing the utility model application in close co-operation with the inventor, it is filed at the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO). Here, the application is checked for possible formal deficiencies.

In Denmark, a utility model is published and eventually registered 15 months from the filing date. Thus, its content remains undisclosed within the first 15 months. Upon request, the Danish Patent and Trademark Office will publish it ahead of time. It is important to note that any subsequent filings claiming priority from the utility model application need to be completed within 12 months after filing of the latter.

When filing an application it is possible to request substantive examination, that is to say, an inspection of whether the invention is new and distinctive from prior art. If the Danish Patent and Trademark Office is of the opinion that this is the case, a registration will be made. This type of examination provides a higher degree of certainty as to the validity of a utility model.

Substantive examination of a non-examined utility model can be performed even after its registration. The applicant or any third party may request this examination. If the registration does not meet the requirements of being novel and clearly distinctive from prior art, the registration may be revocated. However it is often possible to maintain the registration in an amended form.

A patent application may be converted into a utility model with the same filing date as the patent application. By that means the right is established faster. Furthermore, an application for a utility model can within 12 months of filing be used as a priority right for a subsequent patent application.

During its maximum lifetime of 10 years, a utility model must be renewed only three times.