Utility Model Patents in the Andean Community

The utility model, also known as a “minor invention” due to its lower inventive step requirement compared to invention patents, is a legal figure internationally regulated since the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 1883. For the countries of the Andean Community (Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia), its regulation is established in Decision 486, which is mandatory for all member states.

What is a Utility Model? 

A utility model is defined as an invention that provides a technical improvement to a specific object, whether it be a final product or a production means (Article 81, Decision 486). It is important to highlight that this figure does not apply to processes (Article 82, Decision 486).

For example, the invention called the “Original Rectangular Ice Cube Tray” has the technical advantage of a lid that allows ice cubes to be removed one by one, preventing them from falling out accidentally. This utility model was granted by the Peruvian Patent Office (INDECOPI) on February 29, 2000, in favor of Hernán Garrido-Lecca.

Image extracted from the electronic publication titled “Peruvian Patented Inventions and Their Successful Commercialization,” published by INDECOPI in October 2014.

Another example of a utility model granted within the Andean Community is the “Device for Dispensing Hand Sanitizer,” which allows dispensing sanitizer from any common container available on the market, controlling the amount dispensed through a low-power motor. This utility model was granted by the Colombian Patent Office (SIC) on June 17, 2021, in favor of Walter Gálvez Rendón.

Requirements for Granting a Utility Model

Although a utility model is considered a type of invention with a lower inventive step, it must meet three fundamental requirements, which also apply generally to invention patents:

1. Novelty: According to Article 16 of Decision 486, absolute novelty is required in the Andean legal framework, which means the invention must be new at a global level.
2. Inventive Step: Article 18 of Decision 486 states that an invention has an inventive step if it is not an obvious derivation from the prior art. The inventive activity must involve a “certain degree of difficulty of deduction for a person skilled in the art.”
3. Industrial Applicability: As per Article 19 of Decision 486, an invention is industrially applicable when it “can be produced or used in any type of industry.”

However, according to Article 85 of Decision 486, “the provisions on invention patents contained in this Decision are applicable to utility model patents only to the extent that they are pertinent,” meaning these three requirements do not necessarily have to be applied identically to utility models, allowing for certain adaptations specific to them.

The Andean Patent Examination Manual indicates that beyond novelty, other examination requirements for utility models vary according to each member country’s legislation and practice. Below is a comparative summary of how these requirements are applied across the Andean countries:

 As observed, all the Andean countries apply the novelty criterion when analyzing the granting of a utility model. However, there are differences regarding the other two requirements. Concerning the inventive step, only Ecuador applies this criterion; nevertheless, Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia apply the criterion of technical advantage, according to which “the new external configuration, internal structure, incorporation, or new arrangement of elements (…) must improve utility, providing a technical effect or practical advantage that it did not have before” (page 217 of the Andean Manual).

Regarding the industrial applicability requirement, the Peruvian Patent Office is the only authority that does not consider this criterion as part of its formal examination. However, due to the nature of this type of invention and the requirement of technical advantage, we consider that this requirement is implicitly met during the substantive examination conducted by the Peruvian Office.

Utility Model Regulation in Latin America

Below is a list of main countries in the region where utility models are regulated, along with applicable protection terms and renewability: