Instead of waiting years, it’s sometimes better to register a utility model

A medicinal toothpaste is an example of how patenting is a challenging process. It took a lot of effort to convince the patent office that this chemical substance really has the effects described. That was one reason why it took a long time to obtain a patent for it in the United States. In this case, a temporary solution in the form of a utility model registration was helpful in the Czech Republic. This application, which can be filed at the same time as a patent application, does not have to go through the entire patent proceedings, allowing the applicant to gain a utility model certificate in three months. This provides identical protections as a patent, but is valid for only four years and can only be extended by three years, twice. Due to the simpler approval procedure it’s also easier for any competitor with the same idea to revoke the registration of that utility model.