German patents are divided into three types: inventions, utility models, and designs, which are stipulated by different laws. Their protection starts from the next day of patent application, but the terms are different. The term of protection for inventions is twenty years (Article 16 of the Invention Patent Law); the term for utility models is three years, which can be extended for three years after the expiration, and can be extended for another two years each time, up to ten years (for utility models). New Patent Law, Article 23); the design term is five years, and can be extended multiple times after expiration, each time for five years, up to twenty years (Article 9 of the Design Patent Law).