China utility models: Fast and flexible IP protection
A utility model, according to the Chinese Patent Law, means any new technical solution relating to the shape and/or the structure of a product which is fit for practical use. The utility model patent plays a very important role in China in providing quick, short-term and flexible protection for certain creations.
As implied in its definition, a utility model patent protects only products having a definite shape and/or structure and occupying certain space. Methods including use, composition, molecular structure, and metallographic phase structure are not eligible for utility model patent protection.
This doesn’t mean that a claim of a utility model patent cannot include any process or material features. According to the Guidelines for Patent Examination of the State Intellectual Property Office, claims of a utility model patent may include names of a known process for defining the shape or structure of a product or names of a known material. Features such as “welding”, “compound wood floor”, “plastic” and “memory metal” are normally allowable in a utility model patent.
