Spørsmål og svar om design

The registration of designs was previously referred to as "pattern registration."

The Design Act replaces the former Pattern Act of March 14, 2003. What was called a "pattern" under the old law is now referred to as a "design."

What is the difference between a pattern registration and a design registration?

The terms "pattern" and "design" have often been used interchangeably.

The Design Act came into effect on May 1, 2003. All pattern registrations that were valid on May 1, 2003, continue to be valid and are protected under the Design Act. One of the most significant changes for existing pattern registrations is that they can now be renewed multiple times, up to a maximum of 25 years (with the exception of parts that are intended solely as spare parts, where the maximum protection period is 5 years). The Pattern Act had a maximum protection period of 15 years.

To obtain exclusive rights for a design, the design must be new and have individual character.

A design has individual character if the overall impression it creates for the informed user is distinct from the overall impression they get from other designs.

An informed user is a hypothetical person used as a benchmark to determine whether a design has individual character.

This person is well-informed about the products available in the relevant product category but is not an expert or professional in the field. To assess whether a design has individual character, the question is whether an informed user would notice a clear difference between the applied design and other designs already available.

The novelty period is also known as the grace period. This term is used in design law.

It is possible to apply for the registration of a design, even if the design has been made public before the design application is submitted. The deadline for submitting the design application is twelve months from the date the design was first made public.

We recommend that you submit your application via our Application guide, but it is also possible to apply via Altinn. If you use Altinn, make sure to select the correct role at the top right of the page before starting your application.

You can get simpler help from us, for example information about what information you need to include in your application. We cannot help you write the application.

You can find applications that have been started or submitted by logging in to your page in Altinn.

Go to started and submitted applications

This is a search that the applicant of a design registration can request the Norwegian Industrial Property Office to carry out for a fee.

The applicant must indicate in the application form that they wish to have this conducted. In a supplementary search, the Norwegian Industrial Property Office will investigate factors that could prevent the applicant from obtaining design rights. We will send a report to the applicant outlining any findings, but we do not refuse registration based on these results.

When submitting an application, you are required to pay an application fee. This fee covers the processing of your application and is non-refundable, even if the application is rejected or withdrawn.

The payment is processed through NETS via Altinn. If you encounter issues with payment, the problem may be related to one of these providers.

If you prefer to receive an invoice rather than paying the application fee at the time of submission, you must use our application forms available in Altinn.

The filing date refers to the day the protection takes effect, which is the day the images showing the design were first received by the Norwegian Industrial Property Office.

You can search for your case in our register. Enter your application number in the search field and select Trademark, Patent, or Design. Click on your application number in the search results and find the status of your application under Key Information.

You can expect a response to your trademark application within 3 weeks. The response time is extended to up to 5 months if you choose invoice as the payment method for the application fee and/or submit an application with your own product suggestions, meaning products that are not available in our product selector.

You can expect the first response with an assessment of your patent application within 6-8 months. If your patent application is the first one you submit for a particular invention, you can request expedited processing. The response time is shortened to within 3-8 months.

You can expect a response to your design application within 3 months.

When we conduct a substantive examination of an application, we assess whether it meets all the legal requirements for us to register a trademark or design, or publish a patent.

A trademark application must, among other things, include a list of all the products (goods or services) for which you want the trademark registered, while the description in a patent application must be clear enough for a professional to carry out the invention based on it. In a design application, you must submit good and clear images of the design. The law sets several such requirements that an application must meet.

After we have reviewed the application, we send a letter with a substantive assessment to the applicant. This is an assessment and not a final decision. There may be multiple substantive assessments in a case.

After we have reviewed the application, we send a letter with a substantive statement to the applicant. This is an assessment and not a final decision. There may be multiple substantive statements in a case.

All designs are registered in a so-called Locarno class.

They are categorized based on the type of product they relate to. This classification helps the Norwegian Industrial Property Office locate designs in the register. This classification does not impose any limitations on the protection of the design.

Publications of information about patents, trademarks, and designs are made in the Norwegian Gazette.

We publish the Norwegian Patent Gazette and the Norwegian Trademark Gazette weekly. The Norwegian Design Gazette is published biweekly.

We announce information about new trademarks and designs when they are registered.

We publish bibliographic details about patent applications upon submission and when the application becomes publicly available after 18 months.

The patent is also published when it is granted.

The application can be withdrawn by the applicant or the applicant's representative if desired.

The application cannot be re-established afterward.

If your application has been shelved, we can resume processing it once you have corrected the deficiency that caused the shelving. You must also pay a reinstatement fee.

The deadline for applying for re-establishment is two months. The deadline is calculated from the expiration of the original deadline that led to the application being shelved.

An application is considered finally shelved if it is not re-established within the specified deadline. Once an application is finally shelved, it can no longer be re-established.

Convention priority allows an applicant to claim protection for their design in other countries from the date the application was filed in the first country, in accordance with the Paris Convention.

This system is particularly important for designs, as they must be new at the time of application. The deadline for claiming convention priority is six months. Essentially, this priority acts like a "queue ticket" that lasts for six months from the submission of the first application.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the United Nations' specialized agencies.

WIPO's main task is to promote the development of intellectual property rights globally and it is the central international organization in this field.

WIPO has 188 member countries and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) is responsible for the management of the EU trademark and EU design.

They collaborate with patent offices in EU member states and international partners to offer a comprehensive registration experience for trademarks and designs in Europe and globally.

Previously known as OHIM.

Your patent registration is valid for up to 20 years from the filing date, provided you pay the annual fees.

Your design registration is valid for five years from the filing date, with the option to renew for four additional five-year periods, up to a maximum of 25 years.

Your trademark registration is valid for 10 years from the filing date. After that, a renewal fee is required every 10 years to maintain the registration.

Renewing your rights is voluntary. As such, we do not send invoices for the annual fee for a patent or the renewal fee for a design or trademark. You will only receive a notification letter approximately two months before the payment deadline for patents and designs, and six months before the payment deadline for trademarks. Here’s how you can make your payment:

Please be aware that unscrupulous operators may send invoices for annual or renewal fees, often obtaining business information from public databases. Do not pay invoices from unknown companies.

After the renewal fee has been paid, you will receive a renewal certificate either on the 2nd or the 15th of the month, at the earliest 10 business days after the payment is completed. The certificate will also be available in our register, under the documents related to your entitlement.

Objections to an application for a trademark, patent or design before it is eventually registered as a trademark/design or granted a patent.

A protest can be submitted at any time before the application is registered/notified. After registration of a trademark/design or grant of a patent, the term opposition or administrative review is used.

Read more about the possibility of filing a protest against an application for a trademark, patent or design.

An objector is the legal entity that has filed a protest during the application processing.

A trademark application can be transferred from the original applicant to anoyone who can prove entitlement to the application.

The scheme applies at the application stage. After the trademark or design has been registered, you must file an opposition within the opposition deadline to have the right transferred to you.

Anyone who believes that a design has been registered on an incorrect basis can request that NIPO carry out an administrative review of the design registration.

Administrative review has replaced the opposition system for design registrations.

This can be done at any time after the design has been registered against payment of a fee.

The legal entity that has filed an opposition after a trademark has been registered or a patent has been granted.

The administrative review procedure is a quick, simple and cheap alternative to court actions.

Anyone with a legal interest can request an administrative review. The scheme can be used in all three areas of patent, trademark and design, as well as company name.

The legal entity that requires administrative review.

You can appeal a decision by submitting a written statement. Use the form "Claims and complaints to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO) and the Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights (KFIR)" in Altinn.

You must include the case number, the grounds for the appeal and possibly attach documentation that can support your appeal.

The Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights (KFIR) is an independent, court-like body under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.

The Board of Appeal handles appeals against the decisions of NIPO concerning patents, trademarks and designs. It also handles appeals related to company names, the Precious Metals Act, and the regulation on the registration of responsibility marks.

You must submit appeals against decisions made by NIPO to NIPO itself, but the Board of Appeal takes over all case processing.

Additionally, the Board of Appeal processes and decides on appeals regarding certain decisions made by the Plant Variety Board in accordance with the Plant Breeders' Rights Act.