INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY: PLAN TO HARMONISE RULES ON UTILITY MODELS ABANDONED.

Utility models are registered industrial property rights granting holders exclusive protection for technical inventions, especially those with a limited degree of inventiveness or a relatively short exploitation span. The degree of inventiveness required is generally lower than that required for a patent. Utility models are, moreover, issued without prior examination of the grounds for protection in view of novelty and degree of inventiveness. They can therefore be obtained more rapidly than patents and at less cost, though they offer less legal security.

The Commission tabled this proposal to harmonise the way in which they are protected back in 1997 (COM(97)691) on the basis of favourable opinions from stakeholders (broad consultation was undertaken in 1995). It justified the measure on the grounds of the need to promote the free movement of goods throughout the EU, improve protection afforded to EU companies for their inventions, and enhance their competitiveness on the global market. This harmonisation would first and foremost benefit SMEs, often put off by the protracted procedures and high cost...

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