Applying for a utility model

1. Before applying for a utility model, you should examine the novelty of your invention. You can use our patent databases or order a novelty search from PRH.
2. Prepare a utility model application in either Finnish or Swedish. You will need the application form, description of the invention, claims, and possible pictures. For more specific instructions on how to apply, please visit our website.
3. Wait for your application to be processed and respond to any interim decisions. The application will be formally examined first, to verify that it contains the required documents and that the application fee has been paid. Afterwards, we will check if the invention can be registered.
4. After your application has been approved, we will add the utility model on the register and send a registration certificate to you.
5. Keep your utility model valid with renewal fees. The utility model is valid for four years after the registration, after which you can renew it twice: first for four years, then for two. The maximum validity of a utility model is therefore 10 years.

Utility models are suitable for protecting product and device inventions. It does not cover inventions of methods. Private individuals, groups of people, companies, or communities may apply for a utility model.

The invention, which is the subject of the utility model, should be industrially applicable, new, and clearly distinctive from previous known solutions. PRH examines the novelty and distinctiveness only if the applicant requests it specifically and pays for it. Usually, an application leads to a registration if it is formally correct, in other words, if the application has all the required documents, the invention is alike an invention described in the Act on Utility Models, and the application fee has been paid.