How long will the patent right for utility model and design last?

The term of invention patent right is 20 years, and the term of utility model patent right and appearance right is 10 years, all of which are counted from the date of application.

By the way, the difference between invention patents and utility model patents: should enterprises apply for protection of technological achievements or utility model patents? This problem is worth thinking about.

1. Progress is different: in the process of patent creativity examination, invention patents need to have "outstanding substantive characteristics and remarkable progress", while utility model patents only need to have "substantive characteristics and progress". The level of creativity of utility models is lower than that of inventions, so some people call utility model patents "small inventions" or "small patents".

2. Different examination and approval procedures: The Patent Law stipulates simplified examination and approval procedures for utility model patent applications, and only preliminary examination is conducted for utility models, while invention patents need substantive examination in addition to preliminary examination.

3. From the time limit of invention patent protection; The validity period of invention patents is 20 years, which is longer than that of utility model patents and design patents. As we all know, the protection period of a patent right cannot be extended, and the technological achievements will be made public after the time limit. Therefore, it is more reliable to apply for an invention patent.

Of course, although invention patents have so many benefits and long protection time, it is not easy to apply for invention patents. Moreover, even if the application is completed, if the enterprise forgets to pay the annual fee for the invention patent, then the invention patent cannot be protected! It can be seen how difficult it is to obtain and protect invention patents. Not only be careful when applying, but also pay an annual fee after the application is completed!

Whether applying for invention patent or utility model patent, enterprises need to know the requirements of patent application, otherwise it will only waste time. If enterprises are confused, they can also apply for invention patents and utility model patents at the same time. If the application for the invention patent is successful, the enterprise can abandon the utility model patent and protect its technological achievements through the invention patent.