The protection period of the utility model is changed to 15 years.

The term of protection of the patent right obtained by patent application is applicable to the original patent law, that is, the term of protection of the invention patent is 15 years from the date of application; The term of protection of utility model patents and design patents is five years from the date of application, and the patentee may apply for renewal three years before the expiration. According to the decision of the Patent Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), the protection period of the design patent is extended from 10 to 15, which will take effect on June, 20265438 1 day.

The term of protection of a patent for utility model shall be ten years from the date of application. Patents in China can be divided into the following three categories: invention patents, utility model patents and design patents. In fact, different types of patents have different protection periods. According to the patent law of our country, the term of invention patent is generally 20 years, and the term of utility model patent and design patent is 10 year, both of which are counted from the date of application.

Utility model refers to a new technical scheme for the shape, structure or combination of products. The creativity and technical level of utility model in patent law is lower than that of invention patent, but it has great practical value. In this sense, utility models are sometimes called small inventions or small patents. In view of the utility model, we should simplify the examination and approval procedures, shorten the protection period and lower the charging standard for protection. As for the utility model, some countries do not list it as an independent patent protection type, but protect it in the invention patent. In other countries, utility models are listed as an independent type of patent protection.

Legal basis:

Article 42 of the Patent Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) (revised in 2020) has a term of 20 years, a term of 10 years and a term of 15 years, all of which are counted from the date of application. Where a patent for invention is granted for four years from the date of application for a patent for invention and three years from the date of request for substantive examination, the patent administration department of the State Council shall, at the request of the patentee, compensate for the unreasonable delay of the invention patent in the process of authorization, except for the unreasonable delay caused by the applicant. In order to compensate for the time occupied by the review and approval of new drugs, the patent administration department of the State Council shall compensate the patentee for the patent term of new drug-related invention patents that have been approved for listing in China. The compensation period shall not exceed five years, and the total effective patent right period after the new drug is approved for marketing shall not exceed fourteen years.