Title: | Sections 9, 15, 15 a and 19 of the Patents Acts No.9 of 15/12/1967 as last amended by Act No.80 of 29/06/2007 |
Field of IP: | Patents |
Type of flexibility: | Substantive examination |
Summary table: |
Section 9. If the applicant so requests and pays the prescribed fee, the Norwegian Industrial Property Office shall, on conditions laid down by the King, allow the application to be subjected to a novelty search by an International Searching Authority as referred to in Article 15(5) of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, done at Washington on June 19,1970.
Section 15. If the applicant has not complied with the prescribed requirements with respect to the application, or if the Norwegian Industrial Property 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 Norwegian Industrial Property 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 Norwegian Industrial Property 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 for resumption of the processing within four months from the expiration of the said time limit. The prescribed fee shall be paid.
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.
Section 15 a. If the Norwegian Industrial Property Office is in doubt whether a patent should be granted or refused based on section 1 b, the Norwegian Industrial Property Office shall obtain an advisory statement from an ethics committee appointed by the King, before making a decision. The ethics committee shall give their advisory statement within three months of receiving the request. The King may, by regulation, determine specific rules for the committee's procedures.
Section 19.If the application complies with the prescribed requirements and there are no obstacles to the grant of a patent, the applicant shall be notified that a patent may be granted.
Subsequent to the applicant having been notified that a patent may be granted, the patent claims may not be amended so as to extend the scope of the patent protection.