- European
Unlike China, the UK does not have a utility model patent system.
The effectiveness of UK patents involves the UK and the Isle of Man, not Jersey and Guernsey. In addition, UK patents can be extended for registration or automatically take effect in some independent members of the Commonwealth or overseas territories of the UK, including Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Fiji, Guyana, Saint Helena, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, and Zanzibar in Tanzania.
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Types of patent protection
1. Invention patent: 25 years
2. Design patent: Initial protection period of 5 years, renewed every 5 years, with a maximum protection period of 25 years. -
Patent application pathway
1. Submit an application directly to the UK Intellectual Property Office
2. Applying for a UK patent through the PCT pathway
3. Obtaining a UK patent through applying for a European patent
4. Apply through the Paris Convention channel -
Patent examination system and issuance cycle
1. Invention Patent
Formal and substantive examination is required, and urgent examination can be requested through the patent examination highway;
Within 6 months of the first public announcement of the patent application, the applicant shall pay the substantive examination fee to UKIPO and request substantive examination. The substantive examination includes whether the invention has sufficient novelty and creativity.
Under normal circumstances, the registration period is 2-3 years. If the authorization is accelerated for review, the cycle is 18-24 months.
2. Appearance design
Due to the fact that the UK Intellectual Property Office only conducts formal examination of design patents (such as applicant information, description of appearance products, issues with drawings, etc.), it usually takes about 4-6 weeks to obtain a patent authorization certificate if the examiner has no objections. -
Patent application pathway
1. Invention Patent
1) Apply in the name of an individual to provide a scanned copy of their ID card; Apply in the name of the company to provide a scanned copy of the business license;
2) Scanned copy of inventor's ID card;
3) Patent name (in both Chinese and English);
4) Technical materials such as claims, specification, abstract of specification, and drawings;
5) Priority copy or DAS code (if any);
6) Contact person's name, phone number, address, and email address;
2. Design Patent
1) Apply in the name of an individual to provide a scanned copy of their ID card; Apply in the name of the company to provide a scanned copy of the business license;
2) Scanned copy of inventor's ID card;
3) Patent name (in both Chinese and English);
4) Two diagonal 45 degree 3D images of the six sided product (white background image, file size 1-2M per image);
5) Contact person's name, phone number, address, and email address;
1. Third party opinions
Unlike the European Patent Office, UKIPO does not have a patent opposition procedure, but the public can submit third-party opinions after the patent application is published and before the patent is granted.
Anyone who believes that a patent application does not meet the conditions for patent authorization from the publication of the patent application until the patent is granted may submit a third-party opinion to UKIPO. UKIPO will be considered in the substantive examination of patent applications.
If a Chinese company discovers that a competitor has submitted a patent application to UKIPO, and the scope of protection of the patent application may affect the company's commercial interests in the UK market, it may consider submitting a third-party opinion to UKIPO in a timely manner based on necessary evidence to prevent the authorization of the patent application, or to promote the authorization of the patent application with a reduced scope of protection.
2. European Patents and the European Union
As the European Patent Office is not an EU institution, the UK's departure from the EU will not affect the current European patent system, and existing European patents covering the UK will not be affected. European patent agents based in the UK are able to continue representing applicants in processing patent applications submitted to the European Patent Office. The rights granted by the Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) are domestic rights in the UK and are not within the scope of the EU. In principle, they will not be affected by Brexit.
