Current study by EU Commission on “Utility Model” with participation by BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT

The European Commission has published the “Study on the economic impact of the utility model legislation in selected EU Member States”. The study is available in the EU Book Shop. The two BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT partners, Patent Lawyer Prof Heinz Goddar and Solicitor Dr Carl-Richard Haarmann acted as consultants to the EU Commission on this study and worked together with the Technopolis Group Austria on behalf of the Commission.

The study looks at the different legislative practices on utility patents within the EU. The study also looks at the question as to whether and how utility patents are used as components of the system of technical protection within the individual member states. The study finds that in the various member states, utility patents are used very differently. The study also finds, a well-functioning utility patent system used comprehensively by both industry and the legal profession exists only in Germany. In most other states, utility patents play a much lesser role and their use is often not known.

The study concludes that a harmonised utility patent system would make a sensible addition to existing patent law. After all, it is conceivable over the medium term that a uniform utility patent is introduced alongside the uniform patent so that the system of technical protections is fully complemented across the whole of the EU,” the two BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT partners conclude. The study (ISBN: 978-92-79-46477-5) can be downloaded here free of charge (in English)