In 2024, the DPMA received 9,577 utility model applications in total (2023: 9,703) — a slight decrease of 1.3% compared to the previous year.
With 1,113 applications, the technology field “Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy” continued to be the largest sector and saw an increase of 3.9% compared to previous year. In 2024, we saw a particularly strong rise of 10.9% in the technology field “Furniture, games”, in which 912 utility models were filed. As with patents, we also saw a considerable increase of 11.1% for audio-visual technology in the “Electricity” sector.
In the technology field of medical technology (“Instruments”), there was once again an increase of 3.3%.
76.2% of the utility model applications were filed electronically, which represents an increase of 1.1 percentage points compared to the previous year.
In 2024, 9,064 utility models were registered in the register (+8.9%). This means that 91.4% of the registration procedures handled in 2024 were successfully concluded for the applicants (previous year: 89.3%).
In total, 857 applications were not registered because of refusals, withdrawals of applications or for other reasons (2023: 994). The term of protection was renewed for a total of 16,144 utility models (previous year: 16,833) after payment of the maintenance fee.
The number of lapsed utility models rose by 4.4% to 12,099. For example, a utility model lapses upon expiry of the longest possible term of protection or for lack of extension of the term of protection.
At the end of 2024, 64,009 valid utility models were registered at the DPMA (previous year: 67,019).
Top 5 Fields of technology1
Utility model applications in 2024
Applications at the DPMA and PCT applications that have entered the national phase
1 According to WIPO IPC concordance table, available at www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/index.html#resources.
In 2024, there was once again no sign of foreign applicants’ interest in German utility models waning. Instead, the percentage of applications from abroad rose again: 4,343 applications came from abroad (+3.7%), which corresponds to 45.3% of all utility model applications.
PCT applications in the national phase were back on the rise, with their number increasing by 20.3% to 427.
5,234 utility model applications, or 54.7% of all applications (previous year: 56.8%), came from Germany.
As in the previous year, foreign applications largely came from non-European countries: in 2024, the DPMA received 3,355 foreign applications (2023: 3,227), of which 988 applications came from European countries. This represents an increase of 2.8%.
The People’s Republic of China maintained its top position with 1,620 applications (previous year: 1,558) and a share of 16.9% of all applications. Chinese companies use utility models to have many possible embodiments of a product protected and to ensure they have much room for the future development of products.
With a slight increase of 2.3%, India once again took second place with 523 applications. Taiwan, with 360 applications, displaced the United States, with 337 applications, from fourth place. Among the European countries, the ranking did not change: Switzerland was first with 186 applications, followed by Austria with 178 applications.
| countries of origin | Applications | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 5,234 | 54.7 |
| China | 1,620 | 16.9 |
| India | 523 | 5.5 |
| Taiwan | 360 | 3.8 |
| United States | 337 | 3.5 |
| Republic of Korea | 198 | 2.1 |
| Switzerland | 186 | 1.9 |
| Austria | 178 | 1.9 |
| Italy | 139 | 1.5 |
| Japan | 70 | 0.7 |
| Others | 732 | 7.6 |
| Total | 9,577 | 100 |
In the 2024 ranking of the German Länder, North Rhine-Westphalia once again took first place with 1,419 applications (27.1% of all domestic applications), again followed by Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg with 1,227 applications (23.4%) and 934 applications (17.8%), respectively. If we compare these data with the respective population in the German Länder, Bavaria topped the list with nine applications per 100,000 population, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg with eight applications each.
The map shows the utility model applications in 2024 and the applications per 100,000 population as well as the percentage change, broken down by German Land (residence or principal place of business of the applicant).
Many patent applicants use the split-off utility model as a low-cost and quickly effective measure to take effective action against the copying of their innovation. A split-off utility model provides supplementary protection during the period between the filing of the patent application and the grant of the patent. Upon registration of the split-off utility model, an invention enjoys full protection, irrespective of the course of the patent procedure. Applicants can claim the date of filing of the earlier patent application with respect to the (later) split-off utility model applications. Compared to the previous year, the percentage of split-off utility models remained constant (2024: 953 split-off utility models, 10.0%).
A utility model is simply registered, without an examination of the protection requirements as conducted for patents. For this reason, a utility model is considerably faster and cheaper to obtain than a patent. One disadvantage, however, is that it offers less legal security. Any third party can at any time file a request for the cancellation of a registered utility model. Such a request must be accompanied by a statement of reasons. Applicants can mitigate the risk of such a cancellation by filing an early search request with the DPMA. The examining sections of the DPMA will then determine the state of the art that is relevant to evaluate the protectability of the subject matter of the utility model application.
In 2024, the DPMA received 1,196 effective search requests (previous year: 1,191). The number of concluded searches rose to 1,237 (previous year: 1,154).
Cancellation proceedings are an efficient instrument to subsequently clarify the protectability of an initially unexamined utility model. Compared to the previous year, the number of requests for cancellation dropped considerably; in 2024, the DPMA received 56 new requests for cancellation (previous year: 84). As fewer requests were received, we were able to further reduce the number of pending proceedings.
A utility model can be cancelled upon request only. Anyone can file a cancellation request; even without there being the looming risk of an infringement dispute nor an economic interest. A fee of 300 euro is due upon filing the request. The request for cancellation must contain a sufficient statement of reasons. As in civil cases, the losing party must usually bear the costs of the proceedings.
In addition to the party filing the request, the proprietor of the disputed utility model is also involved in the cancellation proceedings as the opposing party. The Utility Model Division decides on the request for cancellation. The panel consists of three persons: a lawyer as the chairperson and two technically competent patent examiners as reporting and associate judges.
The most frequent reason for cancellation is that the subject matter of the utility model cannot be protected. An invention can be protected if it is new compared to the state of the art and involves an inventive step. If a lack of protectability is submitted as the reason for cancellation, any conflicting prior art should be cited in the request for cancellation. Other reasons for cancellation that can be submitted are an inadmissible extension of the subject matter, usurpation or that the subject matter of the utility model has been protected on the basis of an earlier patent or utility model application.
In most cases, a decision on the request for cancellation is based on oral proceedings. Oral proceedings take place in the offices of the DPMA. In the year under review, parties hardly made any use of the option to obtain a decision in written proceedings or, where possible, to take advantage of the option to file a request for participation (from Germany) using image and sound transmission. In 2024, 79 proceedings were concluded.
In focus IP right including grace period
Trade show participation, promotional video, customer meeting — have you already presented your invention to the public? If so, the requirement of novelty of the invention might no longer be fulfilled — and the road to protection might be blocked. But utility model law offers a loophole.
Less experienced inventors might, intentionally or unintentionally, present their technical inventions before they have thought about their legal protection. They demonstrate their product without having entered into non-disclosure agreements, or present it in public, such as at the exhibitions of the Jugend forscht contest.
The successful protection of an invention, whether through a patent or a utility model, requires that the invention be new at the date of filing of the application. The invention is deemed new if it is not part of the state of the art, i.e. it has not been made available to the public by describing or using it.
Grace period
By definition, both a presentation at an event and an advertising brochure published on the internet are considered state of the art. That means the invention is no longer deemed new and therefore no longer protectable.
Unlike patent law, however, the Utility Model Act (Gebrauchsmustergesetz) provides a grace period (Neuheitsschonfrist) in certain cases. This period allows inventors to file a utility model application for their invention up to six months after they themselves have published it.
The grace period can even be asserted with respect to a utility model split off from a patent application. The decisive date in that case is the date of the original patent application, not the date on which the utility model was split off.
Obligation to produce supporting documents in the case of dispute
Of course, applicants can invoke the grace period only if they can prove that they themselves published or used the invention or that the rights to the invention were effectively transferred to them. This way, third parties are prevented from unlawfully claiming the invention. Such a proof can be important in cancellation proceedings, for example.
Further information on utility model protection is available on our website.
Briefly explained Utility models split off from European patent applications
You have filed a patent application and need quick protection for your innovation? Then a split-off utility model is a useful option. This instrument is available at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) even for European patent applications.
Since the entry into force of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) on 1 June 2023, the following protection options have been available to applicants of a European patent application with effect in Germany:
- Classic European patent (bundle patent): Applicants can decide on the territorial scope of application within the contracting states to the European Patent Convention (EPC). The classic European patent is subject to the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court, unless the patent proprietor declares that they want the patent to remain under the jurisdiction of the national courts of the relevant contracting states (opt-out option).
- European patent with unitary effect (unitary patent): Unitary patent protection in currently 18 participating EU member states with the centralised jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court.
- National patent (double protection): In addition to a unitary patent or a classic European patent (without an opt-out), applicants may now also obtain a national patent for the same invention. The coexistence of a national patent and a European patent is referred to as “double protection”.
At the DPMA, you can additionally split off an independent national utility model with the date of filing of the patent application. Splitting off a utility model from a European patent application is an effective instrument for the flexible and prompt protection of technological innovations. The split-off option ends upon expiry of two months of the end of the month in which the patent application is concluded by withdrawal or refusal, for example, or in which opposition proceedings are concluded, but not later than upon expiry of the tenth year following the date of filing of the patent application. A complete and independent, albeit unexamined, IP right, the split-off utility model accompanies the patent application.
Legal and strategic benefits
- Independent protection in Germany: Even in the case of a central revocation of the European patent by the Unified Patent Court, the national utility model in Germany remains valid.
- Supplementary protection certificate: The parallel existence of a utility model and a national or European patent provides an additional enforcement option.
- Option to enforce the national utility model and the European patent at the same time: If an applicant has obtained both a German patent and a European patent effective in Germany for the same invention, the defendant in infringement proceedings against the German patent may put forward the defence of double jeopardy pursuant to Article II section 18 of the Act on International Patent Conventions (Gesetz über Internationale Patentübereinkommen). The purpose of this provision is to avoid competitors having to face two patents for the same subject matter. As a consequence, the German patent is not enforceable as long as the European patent is in force. The situation is different if the applicant has obtained utility model protection for the same invention at the DPMA. In this case, the proprietor of the utility model can assert the utility model irrespective of the parallel European patent. The defence of double jeopardy does not apply to the utility model since the utility model is an independent IP right and not a patent within the meaning of Article II section 18 of the Act on International Patent Conventions.
Other benefits of the split-off utility model:
- Accelerated protection: The utility model applicant will receive a quick and cost-effective IP right for a term of protection of ten years within a few weeks. They may claim the date of filing of the patent application from which the utility model is split off. There is no limitation to the 12-month priority period.
- Immediate validity: The utility model becomes legally valid upon registration in the register, entitling the proprietor to exclusively use, produce and put into circulation the protected product and prohibit third parties from carrying out such acts.
- Flexible use: The split-off utility model is tailored to defend your innovation against infringements. There can be more than one split-off from a patent application.
- Cost-effective alternative to a divisional application: Where a patent application lacks unity, a split-off utility model is a cost-effective alternative to a divisional application.