Protection of Graphical User Interfaces as Registered Design Rights or Design Patents in Norway

• The official fee for filing a design application with the Norwegian Intellectual Property Office (Patentstyret) is NOK 2 470 for one design.
• For subsequent designs (applied for at the same time), the additional fee is NOK 1 690 per design. It is a condition for such co-registration that the designs belong to the same class of the Locarno Classification.

• The registration must be renewed on its fifth anniversary, for up to a maximum of 25 years.
• Fees:
  • 1^st renewal: NOK 3 770
  • 2^nd renewal: NOK 4 550
  • 3^rd renewal: NOK 5 330
  • 4^th renewal: NOK 6 500
  • Additional fee for each subsequent design for which the registration is renewed: NOK 1 690

• As soon as the application has been submitted, it will be published in the design register of Patentstyret. The application will be published without the images showing the design.
• Patentstyret’s examination of the application, assuming that there are no refusals raised or issues with the application, can take up to three months. 
• If there are any issues with the application, Patentstyret will notify the applicant, and give them a deadline for reply. If the applicant does not reply within such deadline, the application will be deferred. 
• After Patentstyret’s examination, provided that the design applied for meets the conditions for registrable design as assessed by Patentstyret, the design will be registered.

The grace period is 12 months, and therefore the designer must file the application within the 12-month grace period (i.e. within 12 months of the first disclosure of the relevant design).

Up to 6 months. 

In principle, filing a PoA is not required, but the applicant should generally be confident it is the legal owner of the design it is seeking to protect.

• The priority claim must be included in the application. The claim must state the design authority to which the claimed application was filed, the date on which it was filed and the application number. If the claim does not contain this information Patentstyret will grant the applicant a period of one month to submit such information. It is optional to include priority documents in the application. 
• Patentstyret may also require that the applicant submits a priority document within three months of such request. Such priority document must contain the information referred to above, the applicant’s name, a copy of the application and be certified by the design authority to which the claimed application was filed. 

Aside from formalities examination, Patentstyret’s examination of substantive protection requirements is limited to two grounds for non-registrability. A design application will be refused if it does not correspond to the definition of the design (e.g. it does not constitute the ‘appearance of a product’) or if it is contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality.

No. There is no substantive examination of the design, and the Patentstyret examiners will not examine the design’s novelty or individual character by reference to prior art. Post grant, third parties will be able to object to the registration by challenging the validity of the registration.

• Priority claims are not examined. Patentstyret will only assess whether or not the relevant information regarding priority (see section 9a) is included.
• As for visual differences, the images of the designs may be differing, as long as the priority claim concerns the same design.
• Patentstyret will not examine the substantive requirements unless a third party objects to the priority and demands a review. In such case the examination will be based on the documentation submitted by the objector and the applicant.

No, it’s not possible to oppose an EU design application at the application stage. The only opportunity to challenge a design is through an invalidity action after registration.

The design must be represented by at least one view, with a maximum of seven views allowed per design.

• The relevant animation must be represented by including in the design application a clear sequence of the animation, specifically by filing a series of static images, for example via a single self-contained ‘screen shot’ of the static interface layout.
• For movable designs, Patentstyret may require that a description of the design, and possibly a sample of it stored on a suitable medium, be submitted.

No written disclaimers are permitted. The representation of the views of the design must by themselves show the scope of protection the applicant is seeking. Accordingly, where the applicant wishes to disclaim any feature of a design this must be shown visually (graphically), typically through the use of dotted lines around any area or features of the design to which protection is not sought, or by simply showing only the feature for which protection is sought. 

• The images of the design can be submitted as photographs, drawings or other graphic representations suitable for electronic recording, storage and reproduction. If the design is to be registered in colour, images and models must be in colour. 
• The below images illustrate some of Patentstyret’s issued guidelines on the preferred drawing conventions.

• A GUI can also be protected by copyright qualifying as a graphic work provided it is original, in the sense that it is not copied from an existing work.
• It is also possible to protect a GUIs by filing for protection as a trade mark through the registration of elements in the GUIs, such as the screen display, icons, brands or logos.

The additional IP rights co-exist alongside any registered design right. By way of example, a GUI may be protected as a registered design, with the protection lasting for a maximum duration of 25 years. Concurrently, if the GUI or elements of the GUI such as logos or other artwork qualifies as a graphic work, it may have the benefit of copyright protection which lasts for the lifetime of the creator (i.e. the designer) plus 70 years after their death. At the same time, a GUI can be registered as a trade mark, lasting indefinitely if renewed.

• Seeking to protect design ideas or concepts: design applications for GUIs are most likely to face obstacles where they seek to protect design principles or ideas (such as a type of motion sequence, a style of movement, a method of transformation of on-screen elements, or an animation concept) which could visually manifest in a variety of ways. Norwegian registered designs only protect the specific appearance of the filed design, against others using designs producing the “same overall impression”. Designers should take account of the limitations of the registered designs system when seeking protection for visual design principles.
• Excluding variable design elements from protection: although the applicant can include disclaimers/limitations in their design application, there is a difficulty with attempting to exclude content that is likely to change with use/when being interacted with by the user, and which is therefore dynamic and not ‘fixed’. There is often added complexity when the design needs to exclude specific elements which may change and evolve, and which the applicant is not seeking to protect, whilst still claiming protection in the overall appearance of the GUI.

• Along with submitting multiple representations to accurately define your GUI, it is also important to use disclaimers to ensure the application is not invalidated by giving the impression that additional sequences/animations are intended to be protected.
• We recommend professional legal advice is sought to obtain expert advice on the best way to present your GUIs.

When receiving notice from the WIPO about an international application designating Norway, Patentstyret will conduct an examination of the two grounds for non-registrability (if the design submitted corresponds with the definition of a design or if it is contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality). If the conditions for registrability are not met, Patentstyret will refuse, in whole or in part, to allow the international registration to take effect in Norway. If the conditions for registrability are met, Patentstyret will enter the international registration in the design register and announce that it has effect in Norway.

No anticipated changes.