In addition, it is made clear that the Patents Act, the Trade Marks Act and the Designs Act, the Regulations to these Acts, and certain other Acts, also apply in the district of Svalbard and Jan Mayen.

Below, we present a non-exhaustive list of some of the most important amendments. For an exhaustive overview of the amendments, please confer the Acts and Regulations on patents, trademarks and designs that entered into force 1st of July 2019.

NB: Transitional regulations apply to some of the amended provisions. For further information in English about the transitional regulations, please contact NIPO.

Amendments that apply to both Patents, Trade Marks and Designs

Re-establishment of rights after failure to meet deadline

• «Due care» requirement replaced by «unintentional» criterion: Will significantly lower the threshold for having a request for re-establishment granted
• For patents: Deadline for requesting re-establishment of rights after failure to meet deadline for payment of annual fees is extended with six months
• NB: Transitional regulation exists

Amendments that apply to Patents

Restoration of priority for patent applications

• Introduction of possibility to restore priority when the deadline in the Patents Act Section 6 has not been complied with
• NB: Transitional regulation exists

Terminology

• «Avgifter» vs. «gebyrer» (fees): Clarifying and adjusting the use of these terms

Administrative patent limitation

• NIPO will no longer assess whether the patent as amended fulfills the novelty/inventive step requirements, or whether the description is sufficiently clear as to enable a person skilled in the art to carry out the invention
• No longer possible to alter the description alone (only together with a limitation of the claims)
• NB: Transitional regulation exists

Deadline for expanding the scope of patent protection by altering the claims before grant

• Deadline is moved to publication of grant
• NB: Transitional regulation exists

Administrative review

• New: A request for administrative review may be filed on the ground that the description is not sufficiently clear as to enable a person skilled in the art to carry out the invention
• NB: Transitional regulation exists

Terminology

• «Fagmannen» is replaced by «fagpersonen»

Amendments that apply to Design

• The requirement that the name of the designer is listed in the design application is removed (NB: Transitional regulation exists)
• Introduction of a limit to the number of pictures of each design contained in an application (NB: Transitional regulation exists)

Amendments that apply to Trade Marks

• Amendments to, inter alia, the Trade Marks Act Sections 60, 64, 72 and 75.

Relevant laws and regulations

Draft resolutions and bills: Prop. 52 L (2018-2019) Endringer i patentloven mv. (forenklinger) (in Norwegian)

Patents Act and Regulations

Trade Mark Act and Regulations

Design Act and Regulations

Regulations relating to Industrial Property Rights on Svalbard and Jan Mayen (in Norwegian - Forskrift om industrielt rettsvern på Svalbard og Jan Mayen)

Questions about the amendments?

Contact our Customer Service Centre at + 47 22 38 73 00.