1. Application for Utility Model or Industrial Design Patent
2. Formality Examination
The utility model or industrial design shall be examined as to the completeness of the
requirements for the grant of a filing date. Under the present first to file system, the date of filing is very important because it determines, in case of a dispute with another applicant for the same or similar utility model or industrial design, who has the prior right and is therefore entitled to the registration of the utility model or industrial design.
3. Formality Examination Report/Search Report
The application is classified and examined as to completeness of formal requirements, and a report thereon is sent to the applicant.
4. Applicants Action on the Formality Examination Report
Within two (2) months from the mailing date of the formality examination report and the search report, the applicant may:
(1) convert the utility model application to an application for an invention patent; or
(2) withdraw the application; or
(3) amend the application; or
(4) request for a registrability report
The registrability report shall be given to the applicant within two (2) months from receipt of the request and payment of fee from the applicant. The report shall contain citations of relevant prior art documents with appropriate indications as to their degree of relevance which will serve as an aid to the applicant in the determination of the validity of the utility model or industrial design claim(s) in respect to newness.
(5) not act in any way
If the application meets all the formal requirements for registration and the Bureau does not receive any action from the applicant, the utility model or industrial design shall be deemed registered provided all the required fees are paid.
5. Publication Upon Registration of the Utility Model or Industrial Design
Registration of the utility model or industrial design shall be published in the form of bibliographic data and representative drawing, if any, in the IPO Gazette within six (6) months after registration.
NOTE:
SCHEDULE OF FEES ON UTILITY MODEL AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Reference Code Type of Fee Big Small
1. PRE-EXAMINATION
301 1.1. Filing Fee 3,000.00 1,500.00
302 1.2. For each sheet in excess of thirty (30) 30.00 15.00
303 1.3. For each claim in excess of five (5) in Utility Model 200.00 100.00
304 1.4. For each embodiment in excess of one (1) in Ind. Design 1,500.00 750.00
305 1.5. Request for right of priority 1,500.00 750.00
306 1.6. Divisional Application (for each division) 3,000.00 1,500.00
307 1.7. Conversion From Invention to Utility Model 550.00 275.00
2. EXAMINATION
2.1. Request for:
2.1.1. Extension of time to file Response
308 2.1.1.1. First 600.00 300.00
309 2.1.1.2 Second 650.00 325.00
310 2.1.2. Registrability Report 1,100.00 550.00
311 2.1.3. Revival 1,000.00 500.00
312 2.2 Preparation of amended page(s) of the master copy of the specifications and/or claims 70.00 per page
3. POST -EXAMINATION
313 3.1. Amendment or correction to the Registration 500.00 250.00
plus publication fee
3.2 Petition for:
314 3.2.1 Voluntary surrender or cancellation 500.00 250.00
plus publication fee
315 3.2.2 Any amendment or any correction of mistakes in a Registration of formal and clerical nature without fault of Office 500.00 250.00
316 3.2.3 Any amendment or any correction of mistakes in a Registration of substantive nature 800.00 400.00
4. EXTENSION OF TERM (Industrial Design Registration per embodiment)
4.1 Petition for Extension of Term
317 4.1.1 First 1,800.00 900.00
plus publication fee
318 4.1.2 Second 3,600.00 1,800.00
plus publication fee
(a) Properly filled-out Request form for a Registration of Utility Model or Industrial Design;
(b) Name, address and signature of applicant(s); for non-resident applicant, the name and address of his/her/their resident agent, and;
(c) Description of the Utility Model or Industrial Design and one or more
claims; for Industrial Design, drawing/s and a "design" claim.
RULE 208. Requirements for Applications for Utility Model. - An application for Utility Model registration and other correspondences shall be in Filipino or English and must be addressed to the Director of the Bureau of Patents of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
The application shall contain the following:
a) A duly accomplished request for registration as prescribed by the Bureau
b) Description containing the following:
1. title
2. technical field
3. background of the Utility Model
4. brief description of the several views of the drawings, if any
5. detailed description
6. claim or claims
7. drawings, if any
Rule 208.1. Title. The title should be as short and specific as possible, and should appear as heading on the first page of the specification. All fancy names are not permissible in the title.
Rule 208.2. Technical Field. A statement of the technical field of the art to which the utility pertains. The statement should be directed to the subject matter of the claimed utility model.
Rule 208.3. Background of the Utility Model. It is a description which indicates the so-called background art constituting the related prior art or state of the art or known technology for the utility model sought to be registered, including references to specific documents where appropriate. Where applicable, the problems involved in the information which may be solved by the applicants utility model should be indicated.
Rule 208.4. Brief Description of the Several Views of the Drawings, if there be any. Every view of the drawings should be briefly described, and indicated with corresponding figure numbers.
Rule 208.5. Detailed Description. The detailed description must specifically include a complete description of the manner of making and using the utility model. It must set forth the precise or exact utility model for which registration is sought, in such manner as to distinguish the utility model from the prior art it pertains to and the technical problem solved by the utility model should be indicated.
Rule 208.6. Claim or Claims.
a) The claim(s) must define the subject matter of the utility model for which registration is sought. Such claim(s) should be clear and concise and fully supported by the description.
b) If the utility model application relates to an improvement, the claim(s) should specifically point out and distinctly claim the improvement in combination with a preamble statement indicating the prior art features which are necessary for the definition of the claimed subject matter.
RULE 309. The Application for an Industrial Design. An application for industrial design registration and other correspondences shall be in Filipino or English and must be addressed to the Director of the Bureau.
The application shall contain the following:
a) A completely filled-out request for registration as prescribed by the Bureau containing the name and address of the applicant or where the applicant is not the designer, a statement indicating the origin of the right to the industrial design; and, an indication of the kind of article of manufacture to which the design shall be applied;
b) Specification containing the following:
1. title;
2. brief description of the different views of the drawings.
3. characteristic-feature description of the design;
4. claim.
c) Drawings of the different views of the design showing the complete appearance thereof including the signature of the applicant or representative. The Bureau may also accept photographs or other adequate graphic representation of the design provided the same comply with the requirements of these Regulations regarding drawings of industrial designs.
RULES 208.6 and 312 of the IRR stated the following about CLAIMS as part of both Utility Model and Industrial Design Applications:
RULE 208.6 Claims for Utility Models a) The claim(s) must define the subject matter of the utility model for which registration is sought. Such claim(s) should be clear and concise and fully supported by the description.
b) If the utility model application relates to an improvement, the claim(s) should specifically point out and distinctly claim the improvement in combination with a preamble statement indicating the prior art features which are necessary for the definition of the claimed subject matter.
RULE 312.4 Claims for Industrial Designs. The claim shall be in formal terms to the ornamental design for the article (specifying name) substantially as shown and described. More than one claim is neither required nor permitted. In case of a color claim, a cross-sectional view of the design may be required in lieu of surface shading, and the color coding based on the color chart as prescribed by the Bureau should be applied.
NOTE: For Utility Model application, it is advised that any drawing/s necessary to
understand the subject utility model should be submitted at the time of filing so that there would not be a possible change in filing date due to late submission/filing of said drawing/s.
The other formal requirements, which are not needed to obtain a filing date, but maybe included at the time of filing are:
(a) A filing fee (for big or small entities) which maybe paid during application filing or within one month from the date of filing. The application shall be deemed automatically cancelled/withdrawn in case of non-payment of such fees;
(b) Drawing(s) necessary to understand the invention, and;
The Intellectual Property Rights' IRR on Utility Model and Industrial Design, Chapter 4 Rules 413 to 430 states the following with regards to inclusion of drawing(s) specifications on the applications for both Utility Model and Industrial Design:
Rule 413 General Requisites for the Drawing The drawing must be signed by the applicant or the name of the applicant may be signed on the drawing by his attorney or agent. The drawing must show every feature of the Utility Model or Industrial Design covered by the claims, and the figures should be consecutively numbered.
Rule 414 Drawing for an Improvement - When the invention consists of an improvement of an old machine, the drawing must exhibit, in one or more views, the invention itself, isolated from the old structure, and also, in another view, so much only the old structure as will suffice to show the relation of the invention therewith.
Rule 415 Uniform Standard of Excellence Suited to Photolithographic Process, Required of Drawings. - The printing of the drawings in the IPO Gazette is done by the photolithographic process, and therefore the character of each original drawing must be brought as nearly as possible to a uniform standard of excellence suited to the requirements of the process, to give the best results, in the interests of the inventors, of the Office, and of the public. The following rules will therefore be strictly enforced, and any departure from them will be certain to cause delay in the examination of an application.
Rule 416 Paper and Ink. Drawings must be made upon paper that is flexible, strong, white, smooth, non-shiny and durable. Two ply or three ply Bristol board is preferred. The surface of the paper should be calendered and of a quality which will permit erasure and correction with India ink. India ink, or its equivalent in quality, is preferred for pen drawings to secure perfectly black solid lines. The use of white pigments to cover lines is not permissible.
Rule 417 Size of Drawing Sheet; Imaginary Line. The size of a sheet on which a drawing is made must be exactly 29.7 cm x 21 cm or the size of an A4 paper. The minimum imaginary margins shall be as follows: top 2.5 cm; left side 2.5 cm; right side 1.5 cm; bottom 1 cm. Within this imaginary margin all work and signatures must be included. One of the shorter sides of the sheet is regarded as its top, and, measuring downwardly from the imaginary line, a space of not less than 3 cm is to be left blank for the heading of title, name, number, and date.
Rule 418 Character and Color Lines. All drawings must be made with the pen or by a photolithographic process which will give them satisfactory reproduction characteristics. Every line and letter (signatures included) must be absolutely black. This direction applies to all lines, however fine, to shading and to lines representing cut surfaces in sectional views. All lines must be clean, sharp, and solid, and they must not be too fine or crowded. Surface shading, when used, should be open. Sectional shading should be made by oblique parallel lines, which may be about 0.3 cm apart. Solid black should not be used for sectional or surface shading. Freehand work should be avoided whenever possible.
Rule 419 The Fewest Possible Number of Lines and Little or No Shading to be Used. Drawings should be made with the fewest lines possible consistent with clearness. By the observance of this rule the effectiveness of the work after reduction will be much increased. Shading (except on sectional views) should be used sparingly, and may even be dispensed with if the drawing be otherwise well executed. The plane upon which a sectional view is taken should be indicated on the general view by a broken or dotted line, which should be designated by numerals corresponding to the number of the sectional view. Heavy lines on the shade sides of objects should be used, except where they tend to thicken the work and obscure letter of reference. The light is always supposed to come from the upper left hand corner of an angle of 45 degrees.
Rule 420 Scale to which Drawing is Made to be Large Enough. The scale to which a drawing is made ought to be large enough to show the mechanism without crowding, and two or more sheets should be used if one does not give sufficient room to accomplish this end; but the number of sheets must never be more than what is absolutely necessary.
Rule 421 Letters and Figures of Reference. The different views should be consecutively numbered. Letters and figures of reference must be carefully formed. They should, if possible, measure at least 32 millimeters in height, so that they may bear reduction to 10.6 millimeters; and they may be much larger when there is sufficient room. They must be so placed in the close and complex parts of drawings as not to interfere with a thorough comprehension of the same, and therefore should rarely cross or mingle with the lines. When necessarily grouped around a certain part, they should be placed at a little distance where there is available space, and connected by lines with the parts to which they refer. They should not be placed upon shaded surfaces, but when it is difficult to avoid this, blank space must be left in the shading where the letter occurs, so that it shall appear perfectly distinct and separate from the work. If the same part of an invention appears in more than one view of the drawing, it must always be represented by the same character, and the same character must never be used to designate different parts.
Rule 422 Signature, Where to be Placed. The signature of the applicant should be placed at the lower right-hand corner within the imaginary margins of each sheet, but in no instance should they trespass upon the drawings.
Rule 423 Title of the Drawing. The title should be written with pencil on the back of the sheet. The permanent name and title constituting the heading will be applied subsequently by the Bureau of Patents in uniform style.
Rule 424 Position on Drawing Sheets of Large Views. All views on the same sheet must stand in the same direction and must, if possible, stand so that they can be read with the sheet held in an upright position. If views longer than the width of the sheet are necessary for the proper illustration of the invention, the sheet may be turned on its side. The space for heading must then be reserved at the right and the signatures placed at the left, occupying the same space and position as in the upright views and being horizontal when the sheet is held in an upright position. One figure must not be placed upon another or within the outline of another.
Rule 425 Flow Sheets and Diagrams. - Flow Sheets and diagrams are considered drawings.
Rule 426 Requisites for the Figure of the IPO Gazette. As a rule, only one view of each invention can be shown in the IPO Gazette illustrations. The selection of that portion of a drawing best calculated to explain the nature of the invention or its specific improvement would be facilitated and the final result improved by judicious execution of a figure with express reference to the IPO Gazette, but which must at the same time serve as one of the figures referred to in the specification. For this purpose the figure may be a plan, elevation, section, or perspective view, according to the judgment of the draftsman. All its parts should be especially open and distinct, with very little or no shading, and it must illustrate only the invention claimed, to the exclusion of all other details. When well executed, it will be used without curtailment or change, but any excessive fineness or crowding or unnecessary elaborateness of detail will necessitate its exclusion from the IPO Gazette.
Rule 427 Reference Signs. Reference signs not mentioned in the description and claims shall not appear in the drawings and vice versa. The same features, when denoted by reference signs, shall throughout the application, be denoted by the same signs.
Rule 428 Photographs. (a) Photographs are not normally considered to be proper drawings. Photographs are acceptable for obtaining a filing date and generally considered to be informal drawings. Photographs are only acceptable where they come within the special categories as set forth in the paragraph below. Photolitographs of photographs are never acceptable.
(b) The Office is willing to accept black and white photographs or photomicrographs (not photolitographs or other reproduction of photographs made by using screens) printed on sensitized paper in lieu of India ink drawings, to illustrate the inventions which are incapable of being accurately or adequately depicted by India ink drawings restricted to the following categories: crystalline structures, metallurgical microstructures, textile fabrics, grain structures and ornamental effects. The photographs or photomicrographs must show the invention more clearly than they can be done by the India ink drawings and otherwise comply with the rules concerning such drawings.
(c) Such photographs to be acceptable must be made on photographic paper having the following characteristics which are generally recognized in the photographic trade: paper with a surface described as smooth, tint, white, or be photographs mounted on a proper sized Bristol board.
Rule 429 Matters not Permitted to Appear on the Drawings. An agents or attorneys stamp, or advertisement or written address shall not be permitted on the drawings.
Rule 430 Drawings not Conforming to Foregoing Rules to be Accepted Only Conditionally. A drawing not executed in conformity to the foregoing rules may be admitted for purposes of examination if it sufficiently illustrates the invention, but in such case, the drawing must be corrected or a new one furnished before the application will be allowed.
Applicants are advised to employ competent draftsman to make their drawings.
(c) If the priority of an earlier filed application is being claimed, the details of the claim, i.e. filing date, file number and country of origin.