Background
The country is richly endowed with natural resources including petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals. Large reserves of petroleum and natural gas were discovered in the 1960s, which led to a continuing boom in the economy. Norway has obtained one of the highest standards of living in the world in part by having a large amount of natural resources compared to the size of the population. The Norwegian welfare state makes public health care free, and parents have 12 months paid parental leave. The income that the state receives from natural resources includes a significant contribution from petroleum production and the substantial and well-managed income related to this sector. Norway also has a very low unemployment rate, currently 3,1% (December 2009). The hourly productivity levels, as well as average hourly wages in Norway are among the highest in the world. The egalitarian values of the Norwegian society ensure that the wage difference between the lowest paid worker and the CEO of most companies is much smaller than in comparable western economies. This is also evident in Norway's low Gini coefficient.
Who May Apply?
Natural and legal persons. may apply. A Norwegian agent is
compulsory for foreigners.
What Can Be Registered?
A trademark may consist of words, slogans, names, logos, figures
and images, letters, numbers, sounds, or a combination of these, and
goods accessories and packaging for a product.
A trademark can only be registered if it enables the applicant's
goods or services to differ from those of others. The trademark must
also not likely be leading to confusion with another trademark or
company name. If the trademark is considered to lack distinctiveness, the applicant
can file evidence of use showing that it is established by use. A
trademark is considered to be established by use when it is well known
within the circle of trade concerned in Norway as a distinctive
sign for someone's goods.
Trademarks may be registered in any language; no translation is
required. Applicants may not apply for registration for more than one
trademark in the same application.
What Cannot Be Registered?
A trademark may not be registered if:
(a) it is contrary to law or public order or is apt to cause offence;
(b) it is apt to deceive;
(c) without authorization by the competent authorities, it includes
official coats-of-arms, flags, or other official emblems or badges,
including official national or foreign certification or hallmarks
or stamps required for goods identical with or similar to those
for which registration is applied, or coats-of-arms, flags, or other
emblems, abbreviations, or designations of intergovernmental
organizations, or any international mark, seal, or sign the unauthorized
use of which is forbidden by law. Nor shall the
trademark be registered if it contains anything liable to be
confused with such emblems or badges, etc., as referred to in
this section. Foreign emblems or badges, etc., with the exception
of flags of States, shall nevertheless not prevent registration
until they have been published in a notice in the publication
issued by the Norwegian Patent Office;
(d) it contains anything liable to be understood as another person's
business name or as another person's name or portrait and
which does not obviously refer to a person long deceased;
(e) it contains anything liable to be understood as the distinguishing
title of the protected artistic, literary, or musical work of
another person, or infringes the copyright to such work or the
photography or design rights of another person;
(0 it is liable to be confused with the name or business name of
another person or with a trademark registered for another
person in accordance with a prior application, or which was
established by use for another person at the time when the application
for registration was filed;
(g) it is liable to be confused with a trademark which someone else
has started to use before the applicant, and the applicant was aware of this use when helshe filed hisker application for
registration; or
(h) it is liable to be confused with an international registration of a
trademark, provided that this registration is effective in Norway
from an earlier date than the date of the filing of the application.
Exceptions from the provisions (d) to (h) above may be made when
consent is given by the proprietor of the prior right, and there is no
other obstacle to registration.
Rights
Any person engaged in commerce is entitled to use hisher name or
the name of hisher business as a distinguishing mark for his goods,
provided that it is not likely to cause confusion with a protected mark
of others.
Filing Requirements
The following items are required for applications for registration:
(1) name, nationality and address of the applicant;
(2) power of attorney (general powers of attorney permitted), may
be post filed;
(3) ten prints not exceeding 7.5 x 7.5 cm, prints are not required
for ordinary word marks;
(4) certified copy of a priority document is, as a rule, not required;
and
(5) priority information. The claim of priority shall be included in
the application or filed in writing before the Patent Office no
later than within two months after the application of the
trademark has been filed in Norway. The claim shall be accompanied
by information with respect to:
(a) the state in which registration of the mark was first sought;
(b) the filing date of the first application; and
(c) the application number of this application, if known.
The Patent Office may call for a verified translation into Norwegian
of any document in other language.
Evaluation & Review
Applications for registration of trademarks must be filed at the Norwegian
Patent Office in Oslo (Styret for det Industrielle Rettsvernl
Patentstyret).
Each application is examined as to the formality of the documents,
the registrability of the mark, and as to the existence of prior conflicting
registrations or applications.
Duration
Registration is effective for 10 years from the date of registration
and is renewable for 10-year periods dating from the expiration of the
preceding registration upon application made up to one year before or
six months (with fine) after the expiration of the registration period.
Use
Where the holder of a registered trademark has not used the
trademark in Norway for the goods for which it is registered within
five years from the date of registration, or if the use has been interrupted
for five consecutive years, the registration may be expunged
from the Trademark Register by a court ruling, unless there are reasonable
grounds for nonuse. Use of a mark includes use of the mark
in a form that differs from the form in which it is registered in details
that do not affect its distinctiveness.
Domain Names
It is possible to register domain names under the gTld, ".no."
Enforcement
No provision.