Changes to the Patent and Utility Model Regulations and the Patent Handbook from January 2024

Patent and Utility Model Regulations

The Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) has adopted new Patent Regulations and Utility Model Regulations. The most important change relates to drawings in patent applications, in which colours can now be used. We will also include coloured drawings in priority documents and publications.

Changes to the Patent Regulations:

• Colours can be used in drawings in applications
• Requests to postpone the grant of a patent no longer needs to be made in a separate communication
• The word ‘characterised’ in the claims no longer needs to be spaced out. Instead, it should be bolded or highlighted in another suitable manner
• Linguistic changes and deletions were made to the regulations
• Annex 2 has been revised (Special orders concerning electronic filing) and transferred to annex 1

Changes to the Utility Model Regulations:

• The word ‘characterised’ in the claims no longer needs to be spaced out. Instead, it should be bolded or highlighted in another suitable manner
• Linguistic changes and deletions were made to the regulations
• Annex 1 has been revised (Special orders concerning electronic filing)

The new regulations enter into force on 1 January 2024 and will be published on our website www.prh.fi. The Utility Model Regulations will only be published in Finnish and Swedish. The Finlex Data Bank provides a collection of official regulations. Go to the Finlex websiteOpen link in a new tab.

Patent Handbook

We will publish an updated version of the Patent Handbook (Patenttikäsikirja) in Finnish on 2 January 2024. The changes above have been incorporated into the handbook. We have supplemented the handbook with points related to computer program products and the novelty of selection inventions. We have also added information on standard essential patents and the unitary patent system, which entered into force on 1 July 2023.

The Patent Handbook (Patenttikäsikirja) is available only in Finnish on our website.

For more information, please contact
Jani Päiväsaari
Head of Division
Tel. +358 29 509 5842
Email: firstname.lastname@prh.fi