Follow your case

After 18 months, the application is published, and both you and others can track it in our Search Service, where all publicly available documents can be found.
Track your case in our Search Service

Payment for the application

You pay the application fee at the same time as you file your application via our Application Guide or via Altinn. Alternatively, we can send you an invoice for the application fee within 10 working days after you have filed the application. You will be given a time limit of 4 weeks to pay. If you do not pay within that period, the application will be shelved.

If you do not have a Norwegian national ID number, you must use the dedicated forms. More information about this.

Correspondence concerning an application

If you are sending us a letter connected to an existing application, we recommend that you use the form for correspondence in Altinn. You will receive acknowledgement immediately.
Altinn: Correspondence to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office

If you are unable to use Altinn for any reason, you can send an e-mail to post@patentstyret.no.

Processing the application

• If the application is formally correct and the application fee has been paid, you will receive a first assessment of patentability from the Norwegian Industrial Property Office within 7 months.
• The examiner will inform you whether your invention can be regarded as new, and if it involves an inventive step so that patent protection can be granted.
• If there are deficiencies or errors in the application, these will also be commented upon in the first written opinion you receive from us.
• In this statement we will explain what you as the applicant, or your patent agent, must do by a specified deadline. If we do not receive a reply within the time limit, the application will be shelved.
• However, if you reply within four months after the deadline and do what we asked for in the statement, processing of your application can be resumed.
• If you have replied within the deadline, but our assessment is that the application still cannot be approved, the examiner will send you another written opinion explaining what must be amended to enable the application to be approved or why it cannot be approved and will be rejected.

See timeline for application process

Check general status for processing patent applications

Applying for a patent in other countries

When thinking about applying for a patent in more than one country, you should consider carefully in which countries you wish to safeguard your rights to production and market access.
More about applying for a patent in other countries

Expedited processing of patent applications

If, when applying for a patent, you have a special need for a faster processing of your application, you can send a request to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office outlining the reason for your request. We will assess requests concerning expedited processing in each individual case.
Read more about expedited processing of patent applications

Accelerated processing of a patent application (AKS)

Anyone who files a first application to the NIPO can now request faster processing of the application, also called accelerated case processing (AKS). This applies to the first application you file concerning an invention. 
Read more about accelerated processing of a patent application

Approval of the application

If the patent is approved, you will be notified accordingly. It normally takes 1-2 years from when you receive the first assessment of patentability until the application may be approved. When the application is approved, we will invoice you a notification fee. You must pay this within two months. When the fee has been paid, we announce that a patent has been granted in the Norwegian Official Patent Gazette. We will send you a patent letter, and the patent will be registered in our patent register.

Rejection of the application

If we are unable to approve your application after correspondence with you or your patent agent, it will be rejected. If so, you will receive a rejection. You can appeal against the rejection to the Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights.
Read more about appeal options

Can others see your application?

Your patent application and any correspondence in the case will be available to everyone 18 months after the application is filed, possibly earlier if you request this. On the other hand, if you withdraw the application before this time limit, the application will remain secret. If you have special reasons for doing so, you can also request that specific business secrets not be made public.

What if I withdraw the application?

You can ask us to withdraw the application before it is published. Applications are often withdrawn if they have not been well enough prepared, or if it turns out that the solution needs to be developed further. There is a limit to how much you can modify an application after it has been filed.

A withdrawn application will not be published as long as the withdrawal takes place within 18 months from the date of filing. You can then file a new, revised application. This new application will be registered with the date on which it is filed. When reviewing your application, we will take account of everything that has been published up to the date when the new application was filed. It is therefore often important that your patent application is complete, so that you do not need to withdraw it and file a new application.

Contact us in advance so that you withdraw the application correctly.

Opposition

If someone lodges an opposition to your invention claiming that it is not patentable, or if they believe that they have the right to the invention, we will inform you accordingly. The person lodging an opposition does not become a party to the case, but we must take into account such information insofar as it is relevant. An opposition can be submitted at any time in the process.

Administrative patent limitation

It is possible for you, as the holder of a patent, to limit the patent. The limitation will be implemented by the Norwegian Industrial Property Office taking effect for the remainder of the term of the patent.

Other appeal options

You may submit a complaint during various phases of case handling
Further information about appeal options

How long does a patent last?

A patent can be maintained for up to 20 years from the day when you file an application, provided you pay annual fees. You must pay an annual fee for each year. If you fail to pay the required fees, the patent will cease to apply.
Overview of fees and charges 
More information about annual fees

For medicinal products and phytopharmaceutical products, you may, in some cases, apply for an extension of the period of protection for up to five years by applying for supplementary protection certificates (SPCs).
Read more about supplementary protection certificates (SPCs)
Application for a supplementary protection certificate (SPC) (link to Altinn)

After a patent has expired, everyone has the right to make use of the invention. In some cases, however, the rights of others to make use of the patent may be limited by other legislation. It may, for example, contravene good business practice or the Marketing Act, or be subject to requirements for protection under copyright law.

Questions?

Contact our Customer Service Centre, tel +47 22 38 73 00.