GERMANY
Utility Model Regulations
Utility Model Ordinance of 11 May 2004 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 890)
last amended by Article 4 of the Ordinance of 17 December 2004 (Federal
Law Gazette I p. 3532)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 General Provision
Section 1 Scope of Application
Chapter 2 Utility Model Applications
Section 2 Filing of the Application
Section 3 Request
Section 4 Application Documents
Section 5 Claims
Section 6 Description
Section 7 Drawings
Section 8 Splitting off
Section 9 German Translations
Chapter 3 Final Provisions
Section 10 Transitory Regulation on Occasion of the Entry into Force of
this Ordinance
Section 11 Transitory Regulation for Future Amendments
Section 12 Entry into Force; Abrogation
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Chapter 1 General Provision
Section 1 Scope of Application
(1) In addition to the provisions of the Utility Model Law and the
Ordinance Concerning the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, the
provisions of this ordinance shall apply to procedures before the German
Patent and Trade Mark Office (utility model matters), prescribed in the
Utility Model Law.
(2) German industrial standards, referred to in this ordinance, have been
published by Beuth-Verlag GmbH, Berlin and Cologne, and securely stored
in an archive at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office.
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Chapter 2 Utility Model Applications
Section 2 Filing of the Application
An application in writing shall be filed with the German Patent and Trade
Mark Office in respect of any invention for which protection as a utility
model is sought (Sec. 1(1) Utility Model Law).
Section 3 Request
(1) The request for registration of a utility model (Sec. 4(3) No. 2
Utility Model Law) shall be filed on the form prescribed by the German
Patent and Trade Mark Office.
(2) The request shall contain:
1. the following information on the applicant:
a) if the applicant is a natural person, the given name and the family
name or, if registration is sought under the trade name of the applicant,
the trade name as recorded in the Commercial Register;
b) if the applicant is a legal entity or a partnership, the name of this
entity or partnership; the usual abbreviation of the legal form can be
used. If the legal entity or partnership is registered in a register,
the name shall be indicated in a form corresponding to that of the register
entry. In case of a partnership under the Civil Code, the name and address
of at least one partner entitled to act as representative shall also be
indicated;
it shall be made clear whether the utility model is filed on behalf of
one or more than one individual or partnership, for the applicant under
the trade name or under the civil name;
c) the residence or principal place of business and the address (street
and house number, postal code, town);
2. a short, precise technical title of the subject matter of the utility
model (no trade marks or other fancy titles);
3. a statement that the registration of a utility model is requested for
the invention;
4. if a representative has been appointed, his name and his address;
5. the signatures of all applicants or their representative;
6. if the application relates to a division of a utility model application
(Sec. 4(6) Utility Model Law) (voluntary or due to lack of unity), the
file number and the date of filing of the original application;
7. where the applicant has already sought, at an earlier date, a patent
with effect in the Federal Republic of Germany for the same invention
and wishes to claim its date of filing, a declaration to this effect which
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shall be filed with the utility model application (Sec. 5(1) Utility Model
Law - splitting off).
(3) If the residence or principle place of business of the applicant is
not in Germany, the applicant shall also indicate the country in addition
to the town when indicating the address under subsection (2) No. 1 item
c). Furthermore, the applicant may also indicate the district, county
or state where he has his residence or principle place of business or
to whose legal order he is subject to.
(4) If the German Patent and Trade Mark Office has assigned an applicant’s
number to the applicant, this number should be indicated in the
application.
(5) If the German Patent and Trade Mark Office has assigned a
representative’s number or the number of a general power of attorney to
the representative, this number should be indicated.
(6) In the event of employees signing the request on behalf of their
employer who files an application, the authority to sign shall be proved
to the satisfaction of the office; reference shall be made to any
employee’s authority to sign, deposited with the German Patent and Trade
Mark Office, indicating the identification number communicated for this
purpose.
Section 4 Application Documents
(1) The claims, the description and the drawings shall be filed on separate
sheets in two copies each.
(2) The documents making up the application shall clearly show to which
application they pertain. Following communication of the official file
number, this shall be quoted on all subsequent communications.
(3) The application documents shall not contain any communication
referring to other applications.
(4) The documents shall meet the following requirements:
1. The size of the sheets shall exclusively be A4. The sheets shall be
used in upright position. Only one side of the sheets shall be used; the
typing shall be 1 1/2 spaced. For the drawing, the sheets may, if
appropriate, also be used sideways.
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2. The margins of the sheets containing the request, the claims and the
description must be blank. The minimum margins shall be as follows:
top 2.0 cm
left side 2.5 cm
right side 2.0 cm
bottom 2.0 cm
The minimum margins may contain the name, the trade name or other
designation of the applicant as well as the file number of the application.
3. Only typing, printing or other technical methods shall be used. Symbols
not existing on the keyboard may be written by hand.
4. The strong and non-transparent paper shall not be folded and be free
from creases, tears, alterations, erasures and the like.
5. Black, clean and well-defined characters and strokes with sufficient
contrast shall be used uniformly throughout all application documents.
The letters of the type used shall be clearly separated and must not touch.
Section 5 Claims
(1) What is to be protected by the utility model (Sec. 4(3) No. 3 Utility
Model Law) may be specified in one part or in two parts, i.e. divided
in a generic and a characterising portion. In both cases, the version
may be arranged according to the features.
(2) If the two-part version is chosen, the features of the invention on
which the invention is based as state of the art shall be included in
the generic part; the characterising portion shall include the features
of the invention for which protection is sought in connection with the
features of the generic part. The characterising portion shall be preceded
by words such as “characterised in that” or “characterised by” or any
other expression to this effect.
(3) If the claims are arranged according to features or groups of features,
this arrangement shall be set off by starting a new line for each feature
or group of features. The features or groups of features shall be preceded
by subdivision signs clearly set off against the text matter.
(4) The essential features of the invention shall be indicated in the
first claim (principal claim).
(5) An application may contain several independent claims (secondary
claims) provided the principle of unity is respected (Sec. 4(1), second
sentence, Utility Model Law). Subsection 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
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(6) Any principal or secondary claim may be followed by one or more
dependent claims concerning particular embodiments of the invention.
Dependent claims shall contain a reference to at least one of the preceding
claims. They shall be grouped together to the extent possible and in the
most appropriate way.
(7) If there are several claims, they shall be numbered consecutively
in Arabic numerals.
(8) Except where absolutely necessary, the claims shall not, in respect
of the technical features of the invention, rely on references to the
description or drawings, such as “as described in part ... of the
description”, or “as illustrated in figure ... of the drawing”.
(9) If the application contains drawings, the features indicated in the
claims shall preferably be followed by reference signs, if the
intelligibility of the claim can thereby be increased.
Section 6 Description
(1) The description according to Section 4(3) No. 4 of the Utility Law
shall first state the title of the subject matter of the utility model
as appearing in the request (Sec. 3(2) No. 2).
(2) The description shall further:
1. specify the technical field to which the invention relates unless it
results from the claims or the indications concerning the state of the
art;
2. indicate the prior art known to the applicant which may be considered
for the understanding of the invention and its protectability by
indicating the documents known to the applicant;
3. disclose the technical problem underlying the invention unless it
results from the indicated solution or the indications made under No.
6, in particular, if it is indispensable for the understanding of the
invention or the detailed specification of its contents;
4. indicate the invention for which protection is sought in the claims;
5. indicate, when it is not obvious from the description or the nature
of the invention, the way in which the invention is capable of exploitation
in industry;
6. state any advantageous effects of the invention with reference to the
prior art indicated in the application;
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7. describe in detail at least one way of carrying out the invention
claimed, using, where appropriate, examples and the drawings, indicating
the respective reference signs.
(3) The description shall not include trade marks, fancy designations
or indications that are not necessary for explaining the invention.
Repetitions of claims or parts of claims may be replaced by corresponding
references.
Section 7 Drawings
(1) The drawings shall be executed on sheets with the following minimum
margins:
top 2.5 cm
left side 2.5 cm
right side 1.5 cm
bottom 1.0 cm
The area used for drawings shall not exceed 26.2 cm x 17.0 cm.
(2) The same sheet of drawings may contain several figures. They shall
be arranged without wasting space, clearly separated from one another,
preferably in an upright position, and be numbered consecutively in Arabic
numerals. Drawings concerning the state of the art are admissible if they
help to understand the invention; however, they shall be clearly marked
as “Stand der Technik” (state of the art).
(3) For the representation of the invention, perspective views and
exploded views may be used in addition to views and sectional views.
Cross-sections shall be indicated by hatching which should not impede
the clear reading of the reference signs and leading lines.
(4) The lines in the drawings should be drawn with the aid of drafting
instruments rather than offhand. The height of the numbers and letters
used in drawings shall not be less than 0.32 cm. For the lettering of
drawings, the Latin and, where customary in technology, other alphabets
shall be used.
(5) The drawings should contain reference signs explained in the
description and/or claims. The same features shall be denoted in all
figures by the same reference signs corresponding to those used in the
description and claims.
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(6) The drawings shall not contain text matter, except, when absolutely
indispensable, a single word or words such as “water”, “steam”, “open”,
“closed”, “section on AB”, and, in the case of electric circuits and block
schematic diagrams, a few short catchwords indispensable for
understanding.
Section 8 Splitting off
(1) Where the applicant has already filed, at an earlier date, a patent
with effect in the Federal Republic of Germany for the same invention,
he may, at the time of filing the utility model application, declare that
the date of filing relevant for the patent application is claimed. Any
priority right claimed in respect of the patent application shall continue
to apply to the utility model application. The right under the first
sentence may be exercised up to the expiration of two months from the
end of the month in which processing of the patent application or any
opposition procedure, if any, is terminated, at the latest, however, by
the end of the tenth year from the date of filing of the patent application
(Sec. 5(1) Utility Model Law). However, the date of filing of the earlier
patent application can only be claimed if the patent application has been
filed after 31 December 1986 (Sec. 4 No. 2 of the Law Amending the Utility
Model Law of 15 August 1986, Federal Law Gazette I p. 1446).
(2) The copy of the patent application in a foreign language (Sec. 5(2)
Utility Model Law) shall be accompanied by a German translation unless
the application documents already constitute a translation of the patent
application drafted in a foreign language.
Section 9 German Translations
(1) German translations of documents forming part of the documentation
relating to the application shall be certified by an attorney-at-law or
patent attorney or be done by an officially authorised translator. The
translator’s signature shall be officially certified (Article 129 of the
Civil Code) and it shall also be certified that he is officially authorised
for such purposes.
(2) German translations of
1. priority documents submitted under the revised Paris Convention for
the Protection of Industrial Property (Federal Law Gazette 1970 II p.
391) or
2. copies of earlier applications (Sec. 6(2) Utility Model Law in
conjunction with Sec. 41(1), first sentence, Patent Law)
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shall be furnished only upon invitation by the German Patent and Trade
Mark Office.
(3) German translations of documents
1. not forming part of the documentation relating to the application and
2. filed in English, French, Italian or Spanish,
shall be subsequently furnished only upon invitation by the German Patent
and Trade Mark Office.
(4) If foreign-language documents not forming part of the documentation
relating to the application are filed in languages not mentioned in
subsection (3) No. 2, German translations shall be filed subsequently
within one month after receipt of the documents.
(5) The translation under subsection (3) or (4) shall be certified by
an attorney-at-law or patent attorney or done by an officially authorised
translator. If the translation is not filed in due time, the
foreign-language document shall be deemed to have been received on the
date of receipt of the translation.
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Chapter 3 Final Provisions
Section 10 Transitory Regulation on Occasion of the Entry into Force of
this Ordinance
For utility model applications filed before the entry into force of this
ordinance, the provisions of the Order Concerning Utility Model
Applications of 12 November 1986 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1739), last
amended by Article 22 of the Law of 13 December 2001 (Federal Law Gazette
I p. 3656), shall apply.
Section 11 Transitory Regulation for Future Amendments
For utility model applications filed before the entry into force of
amendments to this ordinance, the provisions of this ordinance in the
version applicable until that date shall apply.
Section 12 Entry into Force; Abrogation
This ordinance shall enter into force on 1 June 2004.
At the same date
1.the Order Concerning Utility Model Applications of 12 November 1986
(Federal Law Gazette I p. 1739), last amended by Article 22 of the Law
of 13 December 2001 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 3656), and
2. the Fourth Order Amending the Order Concerning Utility Model
Applications of 10 June 1996 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 846)
shall be abrogated.
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