Collective marks and guarantee or certification marks

Collective marks and guarantee or certification marks are marks that groups of people can obtain the right to use. Users must comply with the provisions applicable to the use of the mark.

Who can use a collective mark?

A common mark must be able to be used by all members of an association. The mark must be able to distinguish the members' goods and services from the goods and services of other businesses .

An association or other association of manufacturers, service providers or other traders, as well as legal subjects under public law, can obtain the exclusive right to use such a mark for their goods and services.

Guarantee or certification mark

A guarantee or certification mark should show that goods and services have been checked or certified with regard to, for example, materials, production method or quality. The mark must be able to distinguish goods and services that have been controlled from goods and services that have not been subject to such control.

Government bodies, foundations, companies and anyone else can obtain the exclusive right to use such a mark. However, the owner of the mark cannot himself run a business with sales of the goods or services to which the control applies.

Previous system

Until 1 March 2023, "joint marks" was a collective term for the two types of marks. 

Provisions for use of the marks

In order to obtain registration of this type of mark, there must be associated provisions that apply to the use of the mark. The provisions must contain the following information:

  1. who has the right to use the mark
  2. the conditions for membership in the association
  3. the terms of use of the brand, including sanctions
  4. the brand owner's obligations to enforce liability against anyone who uses the brand in violation of the provisions
  5. the trademark holder's rights and obligations towards the users, including the right to control, possibly by specific control bodies

If the mark is a guarantee or certification mark, point 2 does not apply.

If the provisions are changed after registration, the amended provisions must be sent to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office for registration and publishing.

How do you apply for a collective mark or guarantee or certification mark?

To apply for a collective mark or a guarantee or control mark, you submit an application to the Norwegian Patent Office. It is not possible to use our application wizard to apply for these marks.

How much does it cost?

The application fee for registration in one product or service class is NOK 4 000.

If you wish to apply for protection of the mark in several classes, you must pay an additional fee of NOK 1 650 per class.