In certain countries, inventions can be protected as useful solutions, often known as “innovation patents”, “utility inventions”, or “short-term inventions”.
The main distinctions between useful solutions and patents are:
- The standards for obtaining protection as a useful solution are less demanding than those for obtaining patent protection. While an useful solution must always meet the standard of “newness,” the condition of “creative step” or “non-obviousness” may be less or even unneeded. In fact, useful solutions are commonly used to protect supporting innovations that do not fit the protection conditions for inventions.
- The period of protection for useful solutions is typically shorter than that of inventions and differs by country (typically 7 to 10 years with no extension).
- Most patent offices in countries with useful solution protection do not review the content of the application before registration. This means the registration process is usually simpler and faster, lasting approximately 6 months on average.
- Registering for protection and keeping a useful solution in use is more affordable than registering for patent protection.
- In certain countries, useful solution protection is limited to specific fields of technology and products rather than processes.
Therefore, registering for protection as a useful solution is preferable to applying for protection as a patent if you want to protect a product within a short time or if you want to avoid waiting a long time.
Some countries allow you to submit applications for both an invention and a useful solution at the same time, letting you get the benefits of the invention sooner while waiting for the patent protection. However, when you get a patent, you normally have to pick between two types of protection for the innovation, which means you can’t get registration for both the invention and the useful solution at the same time for the same product.
