17 August 2026: Our expert advocacy paid off – The Ministry backed down on the harmful export exception in the Utility Model Act

The Finnish Government has submitted a proposal to Parliament for an amended Utility Model Act (Government Proposal HE 128/2026 vp).

In May, we reported that we had submitted a detailed statement to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (TEM), criticizing the export manufacturing exception included in the draft bill. We demonstrated that the exception would have shifted the infringement assessment from a technical scope-of-protection comparison to an evaluation of the commercial supply chain, making the enforcement of injunctions by the enforcement authorities almost impossible.

The export manufacturing exception was removed from the proposal

Our criticism – which was shared during the consultation round by the Market Court and the Finnish Bar Association – yielded results. TEM was convinced by our arguments and completely removed the export manufacturing exception from the government proposal. This is a major victory for Finnish industry: the exclusive right granted by a utility model will remain strong, clear, and enforceable.

The bifurcation problem was recognized – a new “brake” on harassment invalidations added to the law

In our statement, we argued that the risks of abuse should be addressed through procedural means rather than by cutting substantive protection. Among other things, we highlighted the so-called bifurcation problem (the detrimental separation of invalidation and infringement proceedings).

In the government proposal (p. 17), the Ministry specifically named Väisänen IP Oy as an expert party that proposed well-founded reforms to the invalidation procedure, and acknowledged the problem raised in our statement:

“During the further preparation of the proposal, the possibility of reforming the utility model invalidation procedure was assessed, particularly so that the invalidation of a utility model registration could be demanded as a civil case in the Market Court in connection with the handling of an infringement action. The change would be justified in itself, but altering court proceedings in this respect would be a broader issue that would also affect appeals to the supreme courts.”

A comprehensive opening of the Market Court Act proved too heavy for the timetable of this legislative project. However, the Ministry took our concerns seriously and introduced new types of “brakes” into the Utility Model Act against the protraction of proceedings. Under the new law, the continuous repetition of the same matter in the invalidation proceedings of the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) will be prevented (Section 19, Subsection 4), so that infringement trials cannot be delayed by new tactical invalidation claims.

The outcome demonstrates that with profound practical experience in both administrative and court proceedings, it is possible to influence the development of legislation.

Read the full government proposal here (in Finnish):

https://www.finlex.fi/fi/hallituksen-esitykset/2026/128#bills