About the Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights

The Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights is an independent, court-like, body under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. The Board of Appeal re-examines and re-evaluates appeals on decisions from the Norwegian Industrial Property Office within patent, trademark and design rights, as well as decisions in relation to company names, the act of precious metals, and the regulations on hallmarks. Additionally, the Board of Appeal re-examines some of the decisions issued by the Plant Variety Board.

In the independent character of the Board of Appeal lies that no one may instruct the Board – not the Ministry of Trade and Industry, nor the Industrial Property Office.

The decisions from the Board of Appeal are available here, on the Industrial Property Office’s website, and on Lovdata. Additionally new decisions are notified via Twitter/Klagenemnda.

Like separate courts. The Board of Appeal tries cases which demand exceptional expert knowledge within the field of patent, design and trademark law. The Board of Appeal hence consists of a legally trained director and deputy director who both fulfill the requirements requested of a judge. They normally act as first-voting judges in matters brought before the Board of Appeal. Additionally, the Board of Appeal consists of board members with legal and technical knowledge, the last mentioned within chemistry, electrical engineering, construction engineering, and mechanical engineering. Further, the Board consists of people with commercial skills, with knowledge of plant breeding and peopled skilled in the art of crafts (design). The general office consists of an Office Manager and two assistants..

A particular challenge for the Board is to keep track of and stay informed of the international developments through the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), as well as the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The Board of Appeal is also, as indicated, comprised of a total of 26 board members. A committee of three, one being the director or deputy director, form the decision making body in a matter brought before the Board of Appeal. The board members are appointed for 3 years at a time and may be reappointed.

The task of re-examining the Industrial Property Office’s decisions implies that the Board of Appeal contributes to develop the case law on the national level and to create predictability and consistency for businesses and consumers. The Supreme Court (Høyesterett) is the highest authority in relation to the creation and development of case law, however intellectual property matters are rarely brought before the Supreme Court.

The Board of Appeal’s activity is mainly regulated by the Act of the Industrial Property Office and the Board of Appeal for Industrial Property (Patentstyrelova) and the regulations thereto. Other legal acts relevant to the activities of the Board of Appeal can be found here.

The course of the appeal

A decision made by the Industrial Property Office may be appealed to the Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights.

The deadline for filing the appeal is evident from the decision issued by the Industrial Property Office. It is set to two months from when the decision was sent. This deadline is not extendable.

The appeal is to be filed with the authority which issued the decision, namely the Industrial Property Office. The Industrial Property Office will invoice the appeal fee. The Office is subsequently given a chance to reverse their decision.

After this stage, the appeal will be handled by the Board of Appeal.

The Board of Appeal will form a committee of 3 responsible for making a decision. The committee normally comprise of the Director or the Deputy Director and a selection of two of the board members, depending on the type of matter. Cases of exceptional significance or difficulty may be decided by a committee consisting of 5.

The Director or Deputy Director will be responsible for drafting the decision, with input from the rest of the committee, and the committee will meet to vote on the matter.
When a final decision has been made, it is issued to the complainant/parties and to the Industrial Property Office. The Industrial Property Office will set correct status in their database and announce the result of the decision in the relevant gazette.

Exchange of pleadings

In cases with only one party, where the complainant wants to appeal the Industrial Property’s decision to the Board of Appeal, only one complaint is filed.
In cases with two parties, the parties are allowed to file two pleadings each. Further pleadings should be agreed upon with the Board of Appeal and will not be taken into account without the Board’s express consent.
The parties shall, upon request by the Board of Appeal, file closing arguments where they account for their submissions and the legal grounds.
The proceedings before the Board of Appeal are normally based on written arguments in Norwegian. However, the Board of Appeal will, if deemed appropriate, request oral proceedings. The parties may also request oral proceedings. The Board of Appeal will decide whether oral hearings are considered suitable and appropriate.

The decision

The decision is made by a committee of 3 people. If the appeal represents exceptional significance or difficulty a committee consisting of 5 will rule on the matter.

When the appeal is determined it is sent to the parties and the Industrial Property Office for publication in their database and the relevant gazette.

If either of the parties disagrees with the Board’s decision, an appeal to the City Court of Oslo may be filed within 2 months counted from the date from when the decision was sent from the Board.

Administrative appeal fees

The fees for filing an appeal with the Board of Appeal shall be paid to the Board of Appeal. The size of the fee varies from 5500 – 5700 NOK depending on the case category.
Payment must be received before a matter can be considered by the Board of Appeal.

Review by a court of law

In situations where the decision is not in favor of the applicant/right holder – and in two-party-cases, where either of the parties disagree with the Board’s decision – an appeal may be filed with Oslo District Court. The lawsuit must be filed within 2 months counted from the date from when the decision was issued from the Board of Appeal. This deadline cannot be extended.

Contacts

Director: Sarah Wennberg Svendsen
Administration: + 47 46171800

Board Members

Legal knowledge

Thomas Frydendahl
Amund Grimstad
Torger Kielland
Kari Anne Lang-Ree
Tore Lunde
Liv Turid Myrstad
Martin Berggreen Rove
Thomas Strand-Utne
Amund Brede Svendsen
Ulla Wennermark
Anders F. Wilhelmsen

Technical knowledge

Gro Katarina Andorsen
Andre Berg
Hanne Th. Bonge-Hansen
Torstein Hernes Dybdahl
Jon Arne Holm
Johannes Hope
Tom Kristensen
Rikard Mikalsen
Katja Reitan
Jonny Roaldsøy
Pål Rongved
Yngve Stenstrøm
Øyvar Svendsen
Turid Tronbøl
Arvid Øvrebø

Postal address: Grev Wedels plass 9, 0151 Oslo.