Patents and Utility Models

Protecting and bringing technical inventions to market relies on patents and utility models—two powerful tools that grant exclusive rights to inventors, each with its own scope and duration.

Freedom to Operate (FTO) analysis
A freedom-to-operate analysis determines whether existing patents may restrict commercial use of your planned product or solution.
Funding Programs
Finnish companies have access to a range of national and EU funding programs to support the protection and strategic management of their intellectual property.
Invention harvesting
Invention harvesting helps identify, protect, and leverage the key innovations in your company’s product development
Novelty and patentability assessment
In novelty and patentability analyses, novelty or both novelty and inventive step of your invention is assessed based on database searches conducted by our experts.
Patent disputes – opposition, appeal, invalidation
Opposition, appeal, and invalidation proceedings allow you to defend your own patent or challenge a competitor’s patent protection.
Patenting an invention
A carefully drafted patent application ensures adequate protection for your invention.
Unitary Patent
The Unitary Patent enables broad and cost-effective protection of an invention in Europe.
Utility Model
A utility model is a fast, simple, and cost-effective option for protecting smaller-scale inventions.

You can rely on our experienced experts in patents and utility models

Feel free to contact us directly or send us a message through the form.

Get in Touch

Jouni Smolander
European Patent Attorney, Managing Director

Niki Ulmanen
Patent engineer

Client Stories

Jasmin Kaivola Awarded the Elias Tillandz Prize

Jasmin Kaivola, patent engineer at Laine IP, is one of the winners of the 2025 Elias Tillandz Prize.

Referral G1/25 – Does the description need to be adapted?

A new referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO concerning adaptation of the description to correspond to amended claims.

MIP STARS 2025 | Several mentions for Laine IP

The leading publication in the IPR sector, Managing Intellectual Property, has published its survey for the previous year. Laine IP has received a new MIP STAR and serveral other awards. Read more:
Show all Client Stories