The patent and the utility model are regulated in the Decree No. 551 dated 1995 Concerning to the Protection of Patent Rights ("PDL"). Obviously patent and utility models are not completely two different rights; however there are some specific measures differentiating them. In this article we will discuss important points of these rights.

Patent is one of the intellectual also industrial property rights, which prevent the production, utilization or sale of an invention by others without permission of the inventor. The utility model provides protection of the novelty and for industrially applicable inventions. It is possible to summarize differences between patent and utility models as the following:

PDL determines qualifications required for receiving patent right:

  1. Novelty: Any invention which is not part of/comprised in the State of the Art shall be deemed to be novel.The Decree defines the state of the art as the information about an invention disclosed through verbal or written introduction, usage or any other means accessible by the public of any place in the World before the date of a patent application.
  2. Surpassing the State of the Art: An invention shall be deemed to surpass the State of the Art (to involve inventive activity/step) when it is the result of an activity which is not obviously realizable from the State of the Art, by a person skilled in the concerned technical field.
  3. Being Applicable To The Industry:The invention shall be applicable to industry. An invention is applicable to an industry if it is useable or producible in any field of industry including agriculture.

There are also non-patentable inventions, due to lack of invention quality:

  • Discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods
  • Plans, procedures and rules about intellectual, commercial and game activities
  • Literary and artistic works, scientific works, aesthetic creations, computer software
  • Methods involving no technical aspect, for collecting, arranging, offering/ presenting and transmitting information/data
  • The Methods of diagnosis, therapy and surgery applying to human or animal body.

Patent shall not be granted for inventions in respect of following subject matter.

  • Inventions whose subject matter is contrary to the public order or to morality as is generally accepted.
  • Plant and animal varieties/species or processes for breeding/plant or animal varieties/species, based mainly on biological grounds.

It is possible to obtain patent rights in other countries, by filing applications in each country or applying to Patent Co-operation Treaty ("PCT"), or to European Patent Convention ("EPC").

Patent holders have certain legal rights. It is possible to demand prevention, cease, removal and/or determination of violation, compensation, withholding, recognition of proprietary rights on the counterfeited products and tools, figurative changes and destruction, notification of the judicial resolutions to the parties concerned, announcement to the public and advertisement of the final verdict, precautionary measures.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.