Özgün Law Firm

1- Which subjects are not deemed as invention and not allowed for protection by utility model in Turkey?

• Discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods.
• Plans, rules and methods for mind activities, business activities or games.
• Computer programs.
• Products with aesthetic qualities, literary and artistic works and scientific works.
• Presentation of information.

2- What is a patent?

Patent is entitlement of an inventor to the right to manufacture, use, sell, have it manufactured under its own license (to license) and import the respective product/method which brings a solution to any specific problem of the inventor. The official certificate, which proves that such rights are held by the inventor, is called as the “Patent Registration Certificate”.

The inventor may put its own product/method, which exceeds the state of the art in respect of the inventive step, under protection through patent registration.

3- There are 3 basic criteria sought for any invention to be patented, namely:

1. NOVELTY
2. INVENTIVE STEP
3. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
    

1. Novelty:

Any invention which is not included in the state of the art is considered novel. In other words, the respective invention must have not been expressed or used in writing, verbally or in any other fashion in a manner to be accessible publicly all around the world.

2. Inventive Step:

Invention is defined as a solution to any and all kinds of specific problems, which can be produced and/or used in any branch of the industry, including agriculture. In short, anything which has been created for the first time is called as invention. An invention shall be considered as involving an

inventive step if, having regard to the state of the art, it is not obvious to a person skilled in the art.

3. Industrial Applicability:

Industrial applicability means that any invention bears the feature of being practical rather than being corporate, in its entirety.

4- Differences between Patent and Utility Model

While patents are required to have the above-mentioned 3 criteria, the second criterion of “INVENTIVE STEP” is not sought for Utility Models, which means that it is sufficient for any product, covered by the Utility Model, to be NOVEL, without any requirement to involve the INVENTIVE STEP. In this regard, Utility Model is also called as “petty patent”.

Please find below all differences between Patent and Utility Model*:        

* Turkish Patent Institute (https://www.turkpatent.gov.tr/TURKPATENT/?lang=en)

5- Differences with respect to protection system and protection periods:

In respect of Patents:

Since the patent certificate is granted based on an examination report proving that whether the application has the patentability criteria (novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability), or not, it ensures a more well-established and longer protection. Patent certificates provides a protection period of 20 years, which is not possible to be extended any further.

In respect of Utility Models:

There is not any examination process, unlike patents. Therefore, it takes a shorter period of time and costs lower to obtain a certificate for utility models, compared to patents. Under this system, protection is provided based on the examination report. Utility Model certificate provides a protection period of up to 10 years, which is not possible to be extended any further.

6- Briefly;

The major differences between Patent and Utility Model are as follows, as explained hereinabove: While the protection period of patents lasts for 20 years, the protection period of utility models lasts for 10 years, and it is not required to conduct researches and examinations to obtain the Utility Model certificate ( except a brief search on the availability of the drawing) , unlike the Patent certificate. Researches and examinations are conducted to determine that whether the respective products have been manufactured before, or not while the Patent certificate is obtained. Therefore, it is much easier and more affordable to obtain the Utility Model certificate than to obtain the Patent certificate.

Serdar Darama, Legal Intern

Burcu Celik, Translator