Appeal Options - trademarks

You may submit a complaint during various phases of case handling.

Appeal options

Protest

A protest is a complaint that comes to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO) from a third party during the application processing. An opposition is a complaint that comes in after the mark is registered. The person who delivers a protest will not formally be a party to the case, but upon filing an opposition, you become a party to the case.

A protest is an objection to the registration of a trademark. For example, you have discovered that someone is applying for a trademark that you think is a descriptive term that should be kept free for anyone to use, or someone is applying for a trademark that you believe is too close to your own registered or incorporated brand.

When and how can you file a protest?

You can file a protest against an application up until the processing of the trademark application has been completed. If the protest is delivered after the trademark is registered, we will treat the protest as an opposition to the registration. See below about this.

The protest must be submitted in writing and be justified. The NIPO will assess the protest and decide if it affects the processing of the application or not.

The applicant will be notified that a protest has been lodged. The person who has filed a protest will receive a letter that the protest has been received.

If the mark is refused registered, the NIPO does not notify the person protesting against the trademark application. If the mark is registered, the protester will be informed of this, with information about the opportunity to file an objection. See more about objection below.

Opposition

Anyone who believes that a trademark has been registered on an incorrect basis can submit an opposition. The opposition must be submitted in writing to the NIPO .

Time limit for complaint

The opposition must have been received by the NIPO within three months from the day when the registration was published. The opposition may lead to the registration being wholly or partially cancelled.

What you can complain against:

That a trademark that has been applied for or registered:

  • is liable to be confused with the rights of others (Section 16b)
  • lacks distinctive character (Section 14)
  • in bad faith (Section 15f)
  • contravenes law, public order or morals (Section 15a)
  • is likely to mislead (Section 15b)
  • contains coat of arms or other symbols/flag without authorisation from the proper authority (Section 15c)
  • contains a geographical origin for wine or spirirs (Section 15b)
  • the trademark has an incorrect holder (Section 21 and Section 28)
  • for other reasons (Section 14-16)

How should you present an opposition?

You must submit the request in writing to the NIPO. The request must contain:

  1. name and address of the person objecting and name and address of the attorney if you are using one
  2. the registration number of the trademark
  3. the basis of the complaint
  4. information about which goods and services the objection applies to, or which goods and services are unaffected by the opposition, if the registration is requested only partially canceled.
  5. necessary documentation in support of the complaint
  6. power of attorney if an attorney is being used, if the attorney is not a lawyer or trainee lawyer

NB: Language requirements: the request must be submitted in either Norwegian, Danish or Swedish. It cannot be submitted in other languages, such as English (Trade Mark Regulations, Section 53).

How does the NIPO process an opposition?

If your request does not fulfil the formal conditions, we will set you a deadline to rectify the deficiencies. We will reject your request if you do not rectify the deficiencies within the deadline.

When the formal conditions for the request are met, we will send the request to the holder of the trademark registration with a one month deadline in which they can express an opinion.

Once the trademark holder has replied, we will assess whether further statements by the parties are necessary. Both parties may ask for an extension of the deadline if they need more time to reply to the other party's arguments. When we consider that we have received sufficient information, the case officer will make a decision. Check case handling times

The complaint will be assessed by a new case officer, independent from the one who registered the trademark.

Possible outcomes of the complaint

  • The trademark is declared completely invalid (is cancelled) or partially invalid (maintained with a limited list of goods)
  • The complaint is rejected, and the trademark registration is maintained unchanged
  • The trademark is transferred to the correct holder. Read more about transfer

How much does it cost?

You may submit an opposition free of charge. The NIPO does not take payment for processing opposition cases.

 

Administrative review

After the time limit for objections has elapsed, you can no longer submit an objection, but you can still appeal by submitting a written request for administrative review of the trademark registration.

You can complain against the points under "Opposition" and in addition that a mark:

  • is not valid (Section 35)
  • has degenerated (Section 36)
  • has not been used according to the rules on duty of use (Section 37)

The administrative review procedure is a quick, simple and cheap alternative to court action. It applies to both national and international trademarks registrations that are valid in Norway.

Time limit for complaint

Requests for administrative review can be submitted when the time limit for objections has passed (three months after the publishing of the registration), and after any objection cases have been finally decided. You can not request review as long as a lawsuit in court is not legally binding. A party which has previously brought a case before the courts concerning validity or rejection of a trademark cannot submit a request for administrative review if the results on legal effect prevent doing so. Requests can be submitted by anyone with a legal interest.

How do you present a request for an administrative review?

The same rules apply as for opposition. See the rules above.

NB: Language requirements: the request must be submitted in either Norwegian, Danish or Swedish. It cannot be submitted in other languages, such as English (Trade Mark Regulations, Section 53).

How does the NIPO handle an administrative review?

Case handling should go relatively fast, and the case will normally be taken up for decision after we have received a statement from the holder of the trademark. We have the following time limits:

  • The holder of the trademark is given a time limit of one month in which to present a statement.
  • If we consider further statements to be necessary in the case, the parties will be given a time limit of 14 days in which to respond. If the holder responds with a demand that the claimant must document actual use, the claimant is given a one month deadline.  
  • We do not usually grant time limit extensions unless there are reasonable grounds or consent from the other party. If there are reasonable grounds for doing so, we grant a time limit extension of 14 days. It must be apparent from the consent how long a time limit the parties wish to have. It is sufficient for a consent to be sent to the NIPO in the form of an email.
  • If there are deficiencies in the request, the requester will be given a time limit of 14 days in which to rectify the deficiency.
  • We grant longer time limits (five to six weeks) in connection with the holiday periods or periods containing public holidays.
  • If there are no reasonable grounds for a time limit extension or consent has not been obtained, the case will be decided on the basis of the information at our disposal.
  • We normally make a decision within two to three months.

How much does it cost?

When the NIPO receives a complaint (a request for administrative review), we send an invoice to the person who has submitted the complaint (see price list). You must pay a fee before we process the case.

 

Appeal against decisions made by the NIPO

You can appeal against NIPO decisions in both national and international cases. The Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights (KFIR) will consider the appeal. You should send your appeal to the NIPO, which will forward it to KFIR.

You can appeal in these situations:

  • You disagree with a rejection by the NIPO of a national or international application.
  • An objection has not been upheld.
  • An administrative review has not been upheld.
  • The NIPO's decision to reject or cancel a registration.
  • You disagree with the decision: The NIPO has decided to cancel a registration at its own discretion due to an evident error or conflict of priority.
  • You disagree with the refusal or rejection: The NIPO has rejected or refused a case concerning resumption, exemption from publication, access to documents, renewal of a trademark registration, change of a trademark or a case being considered despite the time limit having been exceeded.

NB: Language requirements: the request must be submitted in either Norwegian, Danish or Swedish. It cannot be submitted in other languages, such as English (Trade Mark Regulations, Section 53).

Time limit for appeals

The time limit is two months from the day on which the NIPO sent the decision to you. You should submit your appeal to the NIPO. If it is clear that the appeal will succeed, the NIPO has the option of cancelling or amending its decision. In the opposite case, we will forward the appeal to the Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights (KFIR).

More information on the website of the Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights: www.kfir.no

 

When can you appeal to the courts?

You can appeal decisions of KFIR to Oslo District Court. If you have presented a request for administrative review, you cannot take court action on invalidity or transfer while the case is in progress at the NIPO.

Decisions made by KFIR can only be brought before the courts by an applicant or rights holder or objector against whom a decision has been made. The principle is that court action must not be taken within two months from the day when the decision was sent from KFIR. If a decision is appealed to the court, KFIR has to inform the NIPO accordingly as soon as possible, so that the NIPO database can be updated, and the decision must be announced in the Trademarks Gazette (Norsk varemerketidende).

More information on the website of the Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights: www.kfir.no

 

Administrative transfer

Anyone who demonstrates that they have the right to a trademark in an application submitted by someone else may request that the NIPO transfers the application to them. See Section 21 of the Trademarks Act (see also Section 28 which applies during consideration of objections). This applies only to applications, and not to registrations. If the mark is registered, the time limit for opposition of 3 months applies from the date of publication, see Sections 26 and 28.

Legislation

Trademark Act
Trade Mark Regulations

Other options for appeal: Appeal options: patents, designs company names, plant breeders rights

Thank you for your feedback! If you need an answer, call +47 22 38 73 00 and talk to our Customer Service Centre.
This page was last modified: