Term of protection

The term of validity of a utility model certificate is three years from the date of filing of the application. The holder of a utility model certificate may, upon payment of the relevant fee, request renewal of the certificate for a further three-year period. This request must be made, in each period, no later than six months before the expiry of the term of validity of the utility model registration. Where the request is not made within the said period, the renewal request is possible within six months at most after the expiry of the utility model certificate, upon payment of a late penalty equal to twice the registration fee; otherwise, the validity of the utility model certificate terminates.

Note — The Registration Authority is obliged, one month before the expiry of the validity of the certificate referred to in this Article, to inform the holder of the utility model certificate, in an appropriate manner, of the need to pay the renewal fee.