Oppositions: Norway has a post-grant opposition system. The opposition period is normally nine months, but it is extended to three years if the grounds for the opposition are that the use of the invention is contrary to public moral and order. When filing an opposition after the usual nine months, an opposition fee must be paid.

The PTO's decision in an opposition case can be appealed to the Appeals Division of the PTO by the patentee and the opposing party. The Appeals Division's decision can be appealed to the courts by the patentee only. If the patent is maintained by the Appeals Division of the PTO, the opposing party may only contest the patent by filing an invalidity suit before the Oslo District Court.

Observations may be filed during the prosecution of a patent application in Norway. You will not gain party rights, but the PTO will take your comments into consideration when examining the application. Any patent application can be put under surveillance. If the Official Actions from the Norwegian PTO are positive, we will help you evaluate whether it is advisable to file an observation.

Filing an observation in Norway is typically useful if you have access to novelty destroying information that was not found during the Examination in the PTO. However, the Norwegian PTO will only consider prior public use as grounds for an opposition, not an observation.

We advise you on strategy regarding these issues, as well as prepare the opposition or observation in cooperation with you. Our surveillance services can help you react in time. Confer also infringements and invalidity suits & administrative patent restriction.