Utility models usually protect devices, systems, connections, technological methods and products. Similarly as in the case of patents, scientific discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, aesthetic creations, rules for intellectual labor, therapeutic methods for treatment of human or animal body, or trade methods, cannot be protected.

Compared to patents, the scope of protection is limited that it does not include products consisting of biological materials, methods of production of biological materials, of chemical substances, of pharmaceutical substances, as well as medical use of such substances and mixtures. This holds for territory of Slovakia; in Czech Republic, the utility model can protect medical use of substances and mixtures, but it cannot protect production methods.

The utility model laws in Slovakia and Czech Republic have, for a long time, stemmed from the same law from 1992. We can see in current differences that the scope of protection does indeed differ from country to country. Utility model is useful for local products or as a corollary to patent protection.

The preparation for filing a utility model application is in substance very similar to the patent application. First, a search is carried out to determine the state of the art. In contrast to patent proceedings, the office carries out a search during the application proceedings but it is not taken into account in the proceedings. The utility model application is then published in the Gazette and if no one files an opposition within three months, the office registers the utility model. Thus, the utility model will be registered even if the office knows from the search report that the technical solution is not new. A known technical solution can thus be in practice registered as a utility model – literally, a cogwheel or a table with four legs can be registered in such way. Later, however, the utility model can be cancelled (ex tunc, from the beginning). We also carry out a prior art search when preparing a utility model application in order to assess the risk of opposition or cancellation in advance. The results are consulted with the applicant or inventor, respectively. We then draft and file the utility model application for, usually at SK IPO or CZ IPO.

We then have 12 months from the priority date of basic utility model application to file European patent application for 38 countries (directly at EPO, Munich) or international PCT application for 153 countries (directly at WIPO, Geneva) – the priority date of such applications is the same as that of the basic application. Foreign applications derived from the original utility model application can be themselves utility model applications – if utility models exist in the country – or they can be patent applications.

Claiming priority means that that, legally, the date of filing of the subsequent application is the same as that of the basic application. The applicant thus gains one year during which he or she can commercially develop the invention while only investing in a single application in a single country, yet.