Taking out a mortgage on a patent or a patent application means that the patent or patent application serves as security for a claim to be fulfilled, often that a loan is repaid. If you do not repay the loan as agreed, the person who has the mortgage (often a bank or other financial institution) can, with the assistance of the authorities, sell the patent or patent application, to cover the claim. The mortgage thus reduces the risk for the lender.

The main purpose of the right to mortgage is to make it easier for start-up businesses with no prospect of obtaining cash credit loans, and other businesses needing funds, to develop new ideas to raise capital by pledging security in their patents, patent applications and licences.

Applications, granted patents and registered patent licences can all be mortgaged. To secure the mortgage, you must register the mortgaging at the Norwegian Industrial Property Office.

How to register a mortgage

For a mortgage to be registered in the patent register, you must notify us in writing, either on paper, by e-mail or through the web portal Altinn. The Norwegian Industrial Property Office requires documentary evidence of the mortgaging in order to register the mortgage. A copy of the mortgage agreement will normally be sufficient documentary evidence.

The fee for mortgage registration is NOK 500 for registration of a mortgage in a patent or patent application, or for registration of a mortgage for a patent licence. If two or more patents, patent applications or patent licences are to be security for the same claim, the fee is NOK 100 for each registration beyond the first one.

Form for registering the mortgage of a patent:
The form is in Norwegian "Krav om anmerkning om pant" (PDF)
The relevant notes are also in Norwegian (PDF)

For more information, see the following legislative texts:
Mortgage Act - Panteloven §§ 4-11 and following (in Norwegian at the Lovdata website)
Patents Act Section 44 
Regulation on Fees Sections 2a, 42a, 53 paragraph 2 

Importance of registering your rights attached to a patent

All creations of rights, for example licences, mortgages and transfers, gain priority as and when they are registered in the Norwegian Industrial Property Office's register.

This means, for example, that a licensee who has not registered this licence may lose his or her right attached to the patent if a later licensee in good faith (i.e. without being aware that there is already an agreed licence in the patent) registers his or her right, or the patent is later sold and the transfer is registered in the patent register without the buyer being aware of the licence.

It is therefore important for licensees, mortgagee and others to register the rights attached to the patent. For more information, see Section 44a of the Patents Act.

Registration of the pledge in the patent register is also necessary to secure the pledge's right in relation to the mortgagee's bankruptcy estate, see section 23 of the Property Rights Registration Act (in Norwegian).

Questions?

You are welcome to contact the Customer Service Centre on +47 22 38 73 00 if you have any questions.