Woman searching the trademark register on her laptop.

The Norwegian Industrial Property Office's search service - an important source of inspiration

Are you working with ideas for new technology or new products? It can often be inspiring to see what similar technology already exists on the market. It may be something you can put a different spin on, or perhaps you will find a niche where there are no products today?

Do not violate the rights of others

One source of such information is our search service. Here you will find an overview of applied for and granted patents, trademarks and design registrations. It can provide good insight into which areas are already well covered and where it is therefore not so easy to develop new solutions. You can also use this information to find out in which areas there is the best potential for new development. 

- If you are looking for a name for the business or the new product, it is smart to check that no one has already registered this name as a trademark. It's a waste to spend time and resources on something that you can't bring to market without infringing on other's rights, says product owner at the Norwegian Industrial Property Office, Peter Risholm. 

Gives a good overview 

One of the many companies that use this search service is Protector IP. They are an authorized office that uses the service to keep track of applications and registrations they make on behalf of customers. 

– It is a database that is easy to use and easy to create clear reports from. As a trademark and design administrator, I use the search service several times a day to search the database of existing trademarks and/or design applications and registrations. It can be a check of status, check of registered information, check whether a registered change has taken place, etc.

We set up notifications to be informed about the status of cases we are working on. We also create portfolio overviews for our customers.

Karin Fluto, brand and design administrator at Bryn Aarflot AS.
Karin Fluto

trademark and design administrator, Bryn Aarflot AS

The search service has several functions. It can be used, among other things, to find others who work in the same area, or potential collaboration partners within a project. It is also possible that it is technology that should be licensed in order to develop it further in its own products? Wondering what your competitors are doing? In the search service, you can also find out whether they have applied for patents, trademarks or design registration. 

For the CEO of Veenner AS, Gwendoline Scarlett Mesembe, this has been a great help, and Mesembe says that the company often uses the search service. 

– For us, it is good to be able to use the search service to see what others have protected. This way, we can see if someone is working on the same thing as us, and we gain an insight into the probability of getting something protected.

Gwendoline Scarlett Mesembe

CEO of Veenner AS 

Light green person outline against a dark green background.
Gwendoline Scarlett Mesembe

CEO of Veenner AS 

 

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