For Trademark registration in Norway, a brand owner cannot get exclusive rights to words or images that only describe the owner’s product. To register, a trademark it must be unique i.e. it must have a distinctive character.
The trademark should not resemble previously registered trademarks for same or similar products. The owner can check search service[1] to see if competitors have registered similar trademarks in the same industry or business sector as the owner operates in. The owner can also visit navnesok.no[2] to check both domain name, company name and trademark in one search.
The Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO) rejects about 30% of the applications that are filed because the trademarks are not distinctive or because someone has already registered a similar trademark.
2. Types of trademarks in Norway
The owner must choose which type of trademark he wishes to apply for, such as plain text or a logo/figure. This may affect whether it is possible to register the trademark or not, and may also affect what kind of protection is received.
The owner may apply for several types of trademarks, however only one mark per application can be submitted.
The most common types are:
- Word mark
- Figurative mark
- Combined
The owner can only apply for registration of one mark at a time in one application.
Trademark Renewal in Norway
If the trademark is registered, the registration is valid for 10 years. After that the owner can choose to renew his exclusive right by the prescribed renewal fee.
Trademark Application process in Germany
A trademark application must contain:
- Trademark and related products
- Name of owner of the trademark
- Power of attorney (if applied on behalf of others
The trademark application is thereafter assessed and examined. If the trademark can be registered, the applicant will receive a letter of registration, and the office will publish the registration in the Norwegian Trademarks Gazette. If the application fails to meet the requirements of the Trademarks Act, the office will contact the owner – either by calling or sending a letter. The applicant will receive a 1-3-month deadline for responding to the letter.
Any objections from third parties
If someone opposes the registration of the trademark, they may submit a complaint within 3 months from the date of publishing in the Norwegian Trademarks Gazette. If this happens, the owner will be notified and able to respond to the objection. The objection may result in the registration being completely or partially cancelled.
If the applicant received a letter form NIPO, then the applicant has to render a reply to the letter within the deadline- It is important to comply with the deadlines in the letters the applicant receive from us. Please use the correspondence form in Altinn. If the applicant does not respond to our letter within the deadline, the office will refuse the application.
The Norwegian Patent Office (NPO) has a post-registration opposition system, i.e., a formal opposition against a trade mark can be filed only after examination and registration of a trade mark, within a period of three months from publication of the registration in the Gazette[3].
Any person may file an opposition, which may be on absolute or relative grounds.
The opposition is notified to the holder of the registration, and they are required to submit their response within one month. On receipt of the reply from the holder, the NPO will assess if they require additional statements from the parties, and once the NPO has received sufficient information, a decision will be passed.
An aggrieved party can appeal against the NPO’s decision before the Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights (KFIR) within a period of two months from communication of the decision by NPO[4].
[1] https://search.patentstyret.no/advanced/#/
[2] https://search.patentstyret.no/advanced/#/
[3] https://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/sct/en/comments/pdf/sct17/no_1.pdf
[4] https://www.patentstyret.no/en/services/appeal-options/appeal-options-trademarks/