International Type Search (ITS)

The ITS is a full search of your national patent application, and is carried out by an international examining authority.

This type of search is identical to the search done for international patent applications. 

An ITS is normally carried out by a patent examiner other than the one who does the assessment of the national application. You will therefore receive two independent examinations of your application.

ITS is solely a search, and does not include assessment of novelty, inventive step or industrial usability.

The delivery time at the international inspection authorities varies somewhat.

You will normally receive the investigation report within 3 months of the international investigation authority receiving the application documents and the requirement for an ITS investigation, or within 9 months of the application's priority date.

The international investigation report is confidential and is not made publicly available.

Send the order via Altinn or by e-mail within 3 months of the Norwegian Industrial Property Office receiving your national application.

Request ITS examination in the order and state the number of the national patent application.

The prices vary for the various investigating authorities.

You choose which international investigating authority will carry out the investigation. You can choose between:

• Nordic Patent Institute (NPI)
• The Patent and Registration Office (PRV) - Sweden
• European Patent Office (EPO)

If you choose the EPO as the examining authority, the application must be translated into English if it is not already in English.

When the Norwegian Industrial Property Office receives the order, we will send you an invoice for the fees on behalf of the international authority.

If the conditions for requesting an ITS investigation are met, we will forward the necessary documents to the international investigation authority you have chosen.

An ITS can give an early indication of whether the application should be amended before you submit an international patent application (PCT application).

If you decide to file a PCT application based on the national application, and the international examining authority you have chosen can use the material found in your International Type Search Report (ITS) examination report, this may give rise to a discount or partial refund of The ITS fee in the international phase.