Questions and answers about patent

You find all the application forms in Altinn

• Application form for trademark
• Application form for patent
• Application form for design

You can find applications that have been started or submitted in Altinn.

When submitting an application, you are required to pay an application fee. You will be given the option to pay immediately or have us send you an invoice. This fee covers the processing of your application and is non-refundable, even if the application is rejected or withdrawn.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.

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.

Note: Your patent application will become visible in the register 18 months after the filing date. If the application claims priority from an earlier application, it will be published 18 months after the priority date. Before publication, only you as the applicant or your representative can obtain information about the application’s status. Please contact our customer service centre to request this 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

An objector is the legal entity that has filed an objection during the application processing.

An opponent is the legal entity that has filed an opposition after a trademark or design has been registered, or after 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.

A claimant is the legal entity that requests an 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.