The German utility model is registered without factual examination by the German Patent and Trademark Office. If action is taken from a utility model against an infringer, this frequently results in an application for cancellation of the utility model.

The cancellation process against a utility model

The cancellation process serves to put up a defence against claims from a utility model. The cancellation process takes place before the German Patent and Trademark Office and in the second instance before the Federal Patent Court and is configured as a so-called contradictorial process.

This process therefore serves to examine the legal validity of the utility model and can have the result that the utility model is restricted - it is then maintained in the restricted scope - or that it is completely cancelled. The cancellation process is therefore equivalent to a subsequent examination.