Trademark appeal options

You can file a protest to an application until the processing of the trademark application has been completed. If the protest is submitted after a trademark has been registered, the protest will be treated as an opposition.

The protest must be submitted in writing and state the reasons for the protest. NIPO will consider the protest and decide whether it will affect the processing of the application or not.

We will forward the protest to the applicant, and a receipt confirmation will be sent to the protesting party.

• If the mark is refused registration, the party who protested against the trademark application will not be notified.
• If the mark is registered, NIPO will notify the party who protested, with information about the possibility to submit an opposition.

• The trademark application is refused or refused partially (maintained with a limited list of goods and services).
• The protest is considered, but not taken into account.

A protest is free of charge.

The opposition must have been received by NIPO no later than three months after the publication date of the trademark registration.

The opposition must be submitted in writing to NIPO.

The opposition must include:

1. Name and address of the opposing party, and if there is a representative, the name and address of its representative.
2. The registration number of the trademark the opposition concerns.
3. The opposition grounds.
4. Information about which goods and services the opposition concern. Alternatively, which goods and services that are not subject to the opposition if it is a request for a partial cancellation of the registration.
5. Required documentation in support of the opposition. 
   Read more about requirements for documentation
6. Power of attorney if using a representative and the representative is not a lawyer or associate lawyer.

The opposition must be submitted in Norwegian, Danish or Swedish. Oppositions submitted in English are not accepted.

If the opposition does not fulfil the formal requirements above, NIPO will send a letter with a time limit of one (1) month to correct the deficiencies. We will reject your opposition if you do not correct the deficiencies within the deadline.

Once the formal requirements of the opposition are met, we will forward it to the holder of the trademark registration. The person in question is given a time limit of one-month to comment.

When the holder of the registration has responded, we will consider whether further statements from the parties are required. Both parties can request an extension of the deadline if more time is needed to respond to the opposite party's arguments.

When NIPO decides that the case has been sufficiently informed, usually when both parties have submitted statements twice, the executive officer will write a decision.

The opposition process is handled by a different executive officer than the registration process in order to provide a new an independent assessment of the case.

• The trademark is cancelled in full or part with a limited list of goods and/or services.
• The opposition is rejected, and the trademark registration remains unchanged.
• The trademark is transferred to the correct owner.

Submitting an opposition is free of charge.

If the opposition or parts of it is not agreed with, the opposer may appeal the decision to the Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights (KFIR). If the opposition is fully or partly accepted, the trademark holder may appeal the decision to KFIR. The due date for an appeal is two (2) months from the day the decision is sent to the parties. To have your appeal processed, you must pay an appeal fee.

There is no time limit for submitting a request for administrative review, but the time limit for filing an opposition must have expired. Any oppositions or cases in the courts concerning the trademark must be finally decided before an administrative review can be submitted.

A party that has previously initiated a court action concerning the validity or revocation of the trademark can under normal circumstances not request a review of the trademark later.

A request for administrative review can be made by anyone with a legal interest.

The same rules as for oppositions apply.

If your request does not fulfil the formal requirements, NIPO will set a time limit for you to correct the deficiencies. If you do not correct the deficiencies within this time limit, the request will be rejected.

When the formal conditions for the request are met, we will send the claim to the holder of the trademark registration with a time limit of one month to submit a statement.

A decision will normally be made after the receipt of a statement from the trademark holder.

The following time limits apply:

• The trademark holder is given a one-month time limit to submit a statement.
• If we believe that further statements are necessary, the parties will have a response period of 14 days. If the holder claims that the appellant must document genuine use, opposite party will be given a response time limit of one month.
• As a rule, we do not grant an extension of the time limits unless there is a reasonable ground or consent from the other party. If there are reasonable grounds, we will grant a 14 days’ time limit extension. The consent must state the length of the extension.
• If there are deficiencies in the claim, the claimant is given a time limit of 14 days to correct the deficiency.
• In connection with the summer holiday period or public holidays, we grant longer time limits (four to six weeks).
• If there are no reasonable grounds to extend the time limit or consent has not been obtained, a decision will be made in the case based on the existing information.
• A decision is usually made within two to three months.

The fee for administrative review is NOK 4 000.

You can appeal in these situations:

• You disagree with NIPO's refusal of a trademark application.
• Your opposition to a registration is not succesful.
• Your request for an administrative review to delete or cancel a registration is not successful.
• You disagree with NIPO's decision to cancel a registration due to obvious error or conflict of priority.
• You disagree that NIPO has rejected or refused a case for resumption, exemption from public disclosure, access to documents, renewal of a trademark registration, change of a trademark or that a case still should be processed despite failure to meet the deadline.

NB: Please note language requirements: you must submit the claim in Norwegian, Danish or Swedish. We reject the processing of complaints submitted in other languages, e.g. English.

The time limit to appeal is two months from the day NIPO sent the decision to you.

The appeal must be filed to NIPO. If the appeal is likely to succeed, NIPO has the opportunity to reverse or change its previous decision. Otherwise, we will forward the appeal to the Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights (KFIR).

You can appeal decisions from KFIR to the District Court of Oslo. The general rule is that a legal action must be filed within two months from the day the decision was sent from KFIR.

KFIR's decisions can only be brought before the courts by an applicant, a rights holder or an opposer that has been ruled against.

An ongoing administrative review must be finalised before you can bring an action for invalidity or transfer.