As an administrative body under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, the principal task of the Norwegian Industrial Property Office is to process applications and grant rights to patents, trademarks and designs in Norway, for both Norwegian and foreign trade and industry.This government agency task, which also covers information on industrial property rights and how they can be used strategically to strengthen competitiveness, represents the principal activity of NIPO.

We arrange courses and give talks on intellectual property assets and rights, and how they can be utilised to create value. In addition, we carry out individual commercial assignments, for example various types of preliminary examinations to obtain an overview of areas of technology and provide advance assessments of new inventions, trademarks and designs.

NIPO is the most important centre of expertise in Norway for intellectual property rights and contributes to Norwegian and international trade and industry, inventors, designers and trademark builders realising the potential in their ideas by making the right choice with regard to the use of industrial property rights.

NIPO's operation can be illustrated by three different roles:

• Government authority role
  Processing and deciding on applications for patents and registration of trademarks and designs
• Initiator role
  Encouraging Norwegian trade and industry to increase protection and make better use of intellectual property rights
• Assignment role
  Supplying information services such as preliminary examinations and material on which to base decisions to the corporate market

NIPO's purpose:

NIPO shall promote innovation and value creation in trade and industry - both in the role of national intellectual property rights authority and as a guide and knowledge provider.

Main goal:

Greater corporate and economic profitability as a result of intellectual property assets.

• Subsidiary goal 1: More good rights
• Subsidiary goal 2: Correct use of intellectual property assets

Important correlations in NIPO's value chain