Patent registration in Norway. Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. The country has the fourth-highest per-capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIA’s GDP (PPP) per capita list (2015 estimate) which includes autonomous territories and regions, Norway ranks number eleven. It has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, with a value of US$1 trillion. Norway has had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world since 2009, a position also held previously between 2001 and 2006. Norway also has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of patent registration in Norway.
Patent in Norway
According to Norway Law, a patent in Norway is a grant of a property right given by the Government to an inventor. With a patent, the inventor, or the patentee will have the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling the invention in a country, or importing the invention into a country, along with other rights to protect their best interests.
To be patentable in Norway, an invention must satisfy the new, nonobvious, inventive, and industrially applicable requirements.
In addition, an invention that is patentable can also be an improvement on existing items or methods.
On the other hand, the unpatentable subjects in Norway are:
- Discoveries, laws of nature, and mathematical methods;
- Aesthetic designs;
- Systems, rules, and methods for the performance of mental labor, games or management, computer programs;
- Presentation of data and abstract ideas.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Norway
The necessary documents for patent registration in Norway include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s and inventor’s names, addresses, citizenships, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
The procedure of patent registration in Norway
To obtain a patent in Norway, the applicant needs to submit the patent application to the IP Office of Norway.
Before filing, the applicant should consider requesting a preliminary search from the Norwegian Industrial Property Office to find out if the invention can be patented.
After submission, the patent application is subjected to examination to check if it can be registered according to the law of Norway.
During the registration process, other parties who feel like their rights are violated may raise a complaint against the registration of the invention.
If there are no problems in the procedure, the patent will be granted to the applicant and will have a maximum 20 years protection period.
At this time, no one can infringe upon the rights of the patentee provided that he/she pays the annuities yearly to maintain the patent’s validity.
Fees in the patent registration process in Norway
The official fee for the issuance of a patent in Norway should be paid within 2 months from the issuance of the Notice of Allowance.
This period of payment is provided with a grace period of 4 months after the deadline of payment.
After the grant, the patentee needs to pay the annual maintenance fees.
However, not just after the period when the patent is granted, during the pending period, the applicant must also pay the maintenance fees if the pending process takes more than 3 years from the filing date.
This means that counting from the 3rd year from the filing date, the applicant/patentee needs to pay the annuities within 6 months before the due date (including the fees for the 1st and 2nd year).
The due date for paying annuities is the last day of the month in which filing occurred. Late payment is possible within 6 months after the due date with a surcharge.
You can see a list of Norway IP Firms here.