A utility model is a statutory monopoly granted for a limited time in exchange for an inventor providing sufficient description of his or her invention to permit a person (of ordinary skill in the relevant art) to perform or replicate the invention. The rights conferred by
utility model laws are very similar to those granted by patent laws, but are more suited to what may be considered as “incremental inventions”. Other terms such as “petty patent”, “innovation patent”, “minor patent”, and “small patent” may also be used to
describe a “utility model”.