The Norwegian Industrial Property Office grants and registers protection of trademarks, patents and designs. The Norwegian Customs Service helps to prevent counterfeit products from being imported into Norway.
Why protect your brand?
Your business' intangible assets can often exceed physical assets. You should also protect these assets for purely financial reasons.
According to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office, intangible assets, i.e. employees' knowledge, creativity and competence, make up approximately 70 percent of a company's total assets. Registering your rights is a relatively small expense in order to secure investments and cover product development and production expenses.
Without the rights to your own brand, you are powerless to compete against pirated copies that undermine your company's reputation and earnings.
According to the World Customs Organization (WCO), trade in counterfeit goods accounts for between seven and eight percent of all global trade, equivalent to approximately $500 billion in lost revenue.
Norwegian Customs can detain goods either on its own initiative or on behalf of you as a rightsholder when we suspect an infringement of intellectual property rights such as trademarks, patents, copyrights or designs.
Norwegian Industrial Property Office
To protect your patent, design or to apply for trademark protection, you must apply directly to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office.
The Norwegian Industrial Property Office is an administrative body for processing applications for industrial legal protection (patents, trademarks and designs) and is a competence centre for intellectual property rights and assets.
The agency is subordinate to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries (NFD). Information about the Norwegian Industrial Property Office can be found on its website at www.patentstyret.no. When your intellectual property rights have been granted and registered with the Norwegian Industrial Property Office, Norwegian Customs helps to prevent counterfeit products from being introduced to the Norwegian market. When you suspect importation of pirated copies, you can apply for assistance from the Norwegian Customs. An aid decision is valid for a maximum of one year from the day the decision is made. You can submit an application electronically via Altinn.
It is also possible to request a preliminary court order from the district court, cf. Movement of Goods Act § 10-3 and The Dispute Act § 34-7.
If you have questions about protection of design, trademark and patent, contact the Norwegian Industrial Property Office at +47 22 38 73 00, or send an e-mail to post@patentstyret.no.
The Norwegian Industrial Property Office, the Ministry of Culture and the Norwegian Customs Service also have an information page www.velgekte.no about piracy and counterfeiting. This page contains some general guidance and background information that may be helpful.