- Chapter 1 General Provisions
- Chapter 2 The Patent Application and Its Processing, Etc.
- Chapter 3 International Patent Applications
- Chapter 4 The Extent and Duration of the Patent
- Chapter 5 Annual Fees
- Chapter 6 Licence, Transfer, Etc.
- Chapter 7 Termination of the Patent, Etc.
- Chapter 8 Obligation to Give Information About Patents
- Chapter 9 Provisions Concerning Legal Protection, Etc.
- Chapter 9a Prolonged Term of Protection for Medicinal Products
- Chapter 10 Provisions on Legal Proceedings
- Chapter 11 Miscellaneous Provisions
Patents Act * (Act No. 9 of December 15, 1967, as last amended by Act No. 104 of December 20, 1996)
TABLE OF CONTENTS **
* Norwegian title: Lov om patenter. 1. 1 Any person who has made an invention which is susceptible of industrial application, or his successor in title, shall, in accordance with this Act, have the right on application to be granted a patent for the invention and thereby obtain the exclusive right to exploit the invention commercially.
Subject matters not regarded as inventions include anything which merely consists of: Nor shall methods for surgical or therapeutic treatment or diagnostic methods, practised on humans or animals, be considered as inventions. This provision shall not prevent the grant of patents for products, including substances and compositions of substances, for use in such methods.
Patents shall not be granted for: 2. 1 Patents shall be granted only for inventions which are new in relation to what was known before the filing date of the patent application, and which also differ essentially therefrom.
Everything made available to the public, either in writing, in lectures, by exploitation or otherwise, shall be considered as known. The contents of a patent application filed in this country before the said date shall also be considered as known if the application is made available to the public in accordance with the provisions of section 22 . The requirement in the first paragraph that the invention shall differ essentially from what was known shall not apply in relation to the contents of such an application.
Applications referred to in Chapter 3 shall have the same effect as applications filed in this country in the cases indicated in sections 29 and 38 .
The requirement in the first paragraph that the invention must be new shall not prevent the grant of a patent for known substances or known compositions for use in the
methods referred to in section 1,third paragraph , provided that the use of the substance or the composition is not known in relation to any of those methods.
A patent may be granted despite the fact that the invention has been made available to the public within six months prior to the filing of the application: 3. 2 The exclusive right conferred by a patent shall, with the exceptions referred to in the third paragraph, imply that no one but the patent holder may, without his consent, exploit the invention by: The exclusive right shall also imply that no one but the patent holder may, without his consent, exploit the invention by offering or supplying any person who is not entitled to exploit the invention in this country with the means for carrying out the invention, provided that the means relate to an essential element of the invention and the person supplying or offering the means knows, or it is obvious from the circumstances, that the means are suitable and intended for such exploitation. If the means are staple commodities, this provision shall only apply where the person offering or supplying the means attempts to induce the recipient to commit acts infringing the exclusive right provided for in the first paragraph. In relation to the provisions of this paragraph, persons exploiting the invention as referred to in the third paragraph, items 1 , 3 or 4 , shall not be considered entitled to exploit the invention.
The exclusive right shall not include: The King shall prescribe the particulars concerning the right to claim priority as referred to above.
1 Amended by Act No. 35 of June 8, 1979. 1 Amended by Act No. 35 of June 8, 1979.
2 Amended by Acts No. 35 of June 8, 1979 and No. 113 of November 27, 1992.
7. 1 The patent authority of this country is the Patent Office.
8. 4 An application for a patent shall be filed in writing with the Patent Office or, in the cases referred to in Chapter 3 , with a patent authority or an international organisation as referred to in section 28 .
The application shall contain a description of the invention, including drawings where necessary, and a precise statement of the subject matter for which protection by the patent is sought (patent claims). The fact that the invention relates to a chemical compound shall not imply that a specific use must be disclosed in the claim. The description shall be sufficiently clear to enable a person skilled in the art to carry out the invention on the basis thereof. An invention which relates to a microbiological process or to a product obtained by such a process shall, in the cases referred to in section 8a , only be considered to be disclosed in a sufficiently clear manner if the requirements of section 8a are also complied with.
The application shall also contain an abstract of the description and patent claims. The abstract shall merely serve as technical information and may not be taken into account for any other purpose.
The inventor shall be identified by name in the application. If a patent is applied for by someone other than the inventor, the applicant shall prove his right to the invention.
The applicant shall pay the prescribed application fee. A prescribed annual fee shall also be paid for every fee year beginning before the application is finally decided upon.
A fee year in accordance with this Act comprises one year and shall be reckoned the first time from the day on which the application was filed and thereafter from the corresponding day of the calendar year.
8a. 5 If, when carrying out an invention, this involves the use of a microorganism which is not available to the public and cannot be described in the application documents in such a manner as to enable a person skilled in the art to carry out the invention on the basis thereof, a culture of the microorganism shall be deposited not later than on the date of filing of the application. The culture shall thereafter always be deposited so that anyone who under this Act is entitled to be furnished with a sample of the culture, may be furnished with a sample in Norway. The King shall decree where deposits may be made.
If a deposited culture of a microorganism ceases to be viable or a sample of the culture cannot be furnished for other reasons, it may be replaced by a new culture of the same microorganism within the prescribed time limit and on the other conditions laid down by the King. In that case, the new deposit shall be deemed to have been made on the date that the previous deposit was made. 5 Amended by Act No. 30 of May 24, 1985. 1 Amended by Act No. 35 of June 8, 1979. of the applicant and on conditions laid down by the King, be considered as filed on the date on which the documents disclosing the invention were received by the Patent Office. 14. 7
15. 4 If the applicant has not complied with the prescribed requirements with respect to the application, or if the Patent Office finds other obstacles to the acceptance of the application, the applicant shall be notified to that effect and be invited to submit observations or to correct the application within a specified time limit. However, the Patent Office may make such amendments in the abstract as found necessary without consulting the applicant.
If the applicant fails, within the time limit, to submit observations or to take steps to correct a defect which has been pointed out, the application shall be shelved. Information to that effect shall be given in the notification from the Patent Office referred to in the first paragraph .
However, the processing of the application shall be resumed if the applicant submits observations or takes steps to make corrections and pays the prescribed fee for resumption of the processing within four months from the expiration of the said time limit.
If the annual fee referred to in sections 8 , 41 and 42 is not paid, the application shall be shelved without prior notification. The processing of an application which has been shelved for this reason cannot be resumed. If an action has been brought with respect to the question of the right to the invention, the processing of the patent application may be suspended until the courts have reached a final decision on the question. 8 Amended by Acts No. 35 of June 8, 1979, No. 82 of December 22, 1995 and No. 104 of When a notice of the decision to accept the application has been published, the patent is granted.
Simultaneously with the grant of the patent, the Patent Office shall publish a patent specification. The patent specification shall include a description, patent claims, an abstract, and the names of the patent holder and the inventor.
When the patent is granted, a letters patent shall be issued.
Patents granted shall be entered in the Register of Patents kept by the Patent Office. Anyone shall be entitled to examine the Register of Patents, to obtain certified extracts
therefrom and to obtain copies of patent applications which have been made available to the public according to section 22 .
22. 10 All documents of the application shall be made available to the public as of the date on which the patent was granted.
When 18 months have passed from the filing date of the application or, if priority under section 6 has been claimed, from the date from which priority is claimed, the documents shall be made available to the public even if a patent has not yet been granted. However, if the application has been shelved or refused, the documents shall not be made available to the public unless the applicant requests resumption of the processing of the application, appeals against the refusal or requests re-establishment of rights under sections 72 or 73 .
At the applicant’s request, the application documents shall be made available to the public earlier than prescribed in the first or second paragraph .
When the documents become available to the public under the
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�Act No. 9 of December 15, 1967, as amended by Acts No. 35 of June 8, 1979, No. 2 of
�February 8, 1980, No. 30 of May 24, 1985, No. 29 of June 14, 1991, No. 86 of June 26,
�1992, No. 113 of November 27, 1992, No. 40 of June 24, 1994, No. 82 of December 22,
�1995, and No. 104 of December 20, 1996.
�Entry into force (of last amending Act): January 1, 1997.
�Source: English translation communicated by the Norwegian authorities.
�** The Table of Contents is not a part of the Act. It has been included for the purposes of
�information.
�13 Replaces earlier chapter on Nordic Patent Applications.
�19 Added by Act No. 40 of June 24, 1994.
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Chapter 1
�General Provisions
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Chapter 2
�The Patent Application and Its Processing, Etc.
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�December 20, 1996.
9 Amended by Acts No. 35 of June 8, 1979 and No. 82 of December 22, 1995.
�9 Amended by Acts No. 35 of June 8, 1979 and No. 82 of December 22, 1995.
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