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Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Norway

Title:Sections 8-8c, 25 (1) 2) and 52 (1) 2) of the Patents Acts No.9 of 15/12/1967 as last amended by Act No.80 of 29/06/2007 and Section 30 of the Regulations thereto
Field of IP:Patents
Type of flexibility:Disclosure related flexibilities
Summary table:PDF

Provisions of Law

Section 8. An application for a patent shall be filed in writing with the Norwegian Industrial Property Office or, in the cases referred to in Chapter 3, with a patent authority or an international organization 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 or uses biological material, 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. (…)

Section 8a. If, when carrying out an invention, this involves the use of biological material 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 sample of the biological material shall be deposited not later than on the date of filing of the application. The sample shall thereafter always be deposited so that anyone who under this Act is entitled to be furnished with a sample of the biological material should 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.

Section 8 b. If an invention concerns or uses biological material, the patent application shall include information on the country from which the inventor collected or received the material (the providing country). If it follows from the national law in the providing country that access to biological material shall be subject to prior consent, the application shall state whether such consent has been obtained.

If the providing country is not the same as the country of origin of the biological material, the application shall also state the country of origin. The country of origin means the country from which the material was collected from its natural environment. If the national law in the country of origin requires that access to biological material shall be subject to prior consent, the application shall state whether such consent has been obtained. If the information set out in this subsection is not known, the applicant shall state that.

The duty to disclose information under the first and second paragraphs applies even where the inventor has altered the structure of the received material. The duty to disclose information does not apply to biological material derived from the human body.

Breach of the duty to disclose information is subject to penalty in accordance with the General Civil Penal Code § 166. The duty to disclose information is without prejudice to the processing of patent applications or the validity of rights arising from granted patents.

Section 8 c. If an invention concerns or uses biological material from the human body, the patent application shall include information on whether the person from whom the material has been derived has given his/her consent to the use of the biological material, in accordance with the law of 21st February 2003 no 12 about bio banks.

Breach of the duty to disclose information is subject to penalty in accordance with the General Civil Penal Code § 166. The duty to disclose information is without prejudice to the processing of patent applications or the validity of rights arising from granted patents.

Section 25. Subsequent to an opposition the Norwegian Industrial Property Office shall revoke the patent if

2) it relates to an invention which is not disclosed in a manner sufficiently clear as to enable a person skilled in the art to carry out the invention on the basis of the description; or

Section 52. A patent may be fully or partially invalidated by a court decision if:

2) it relates to an invention the description of which is not sufficiently clear to enable a person skilled in the art to carry out the invention on the basis thereof;

Regulations

Section 30. Written Opinion from Another Searching Authority

If an application is filed for a patent for an invention for which the same applicant has filed a patent application outside Norway, the applicant shall, at the request of the Norwegian Industrial Property Office, provide information about the written opinion that

the patent authority in question has provided regarding the novelty search and patentability. Within a time limit stipulated by the Norwegian Industrial Property Office, the applicant shall submit:

a copy of the written opinion that the patent authority in question has provided regarding the novelty search and patentability in general, or

a declaration that the applicant has not yet received such a written opinion.

If the applicant fails to meet the time limit fixed by the Norwegian Industrial Property Office, the application will be shelved in accordance with section 15 of the Patents Act. If the applicant expressly refuses to submit a copy of the written opinion or the declaration, the application shall be rejected in accordance with section 16 of the Patents Act.