The new Trademarks Act is amplification and modernization of the previous act, but it also brings essential amendments within several fields. The most important are:

-          The registration period is still 10 years, but for marks filed from July 1, 2010, the period is 10 years from the date of application, and not from the date of registration as before.

-          The opposition period is extended from 2 to 3 months - this applies to trademarks published from July 1, 2010.

-          Remedies for import, marketing and sales of counterfeit products and for other trademark infringements:

o   The imprisonment sentencing framework is increased from three months to one year.

o   The court can impose on an infringer a general prohibition of further / future infringements.

o   The court can impose on an infringer to delete or transfer a domain registration to the trademark owner where use of the domain represents a trademark infringement.

-          The right to a trademark: NIPO (Norwegian Institute for Industrial property) is now allowed, under both the examination procedure and in a process of opposition, to proceed with transfer of a trademark application or registration to a party which vindicates to be the rightful owner of the trademark.

-          Regional consumption of rights is affirmed: Where a trademark has been in legitimate use (by the trademark owner or on basis of his consent) within the EEA-area (EU-countries + Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland), the owner cannot oppose import and sales of these products in Norway, unless in case the products have been substantially altered or deteriorated. In other words:Products from outside the EEA-areacan not be imported to, marketed or sold in Norway without consent from the trademark owner.

-          Administrative re-examination by NIPO: Matters regarding a registration’s validation, degeneration and deletion due to non-use over a five-year period could previously be settled through court actions only. The new act makes administrative re-examination by NIPO possible, and thus Norway has a system with two opportunities. However, a matter can not be treated by both instances simultaneously.

-          Division and merger of registrations: A trademark registration can be divided in several registrations, and such divided registrations can be re-merged into one registration at a later stage. These opportunities will in many cases simplify the handling of the trademark portfolio.

-           The right for a licensee to bring a court action: The new act affirms that a licensee is legitimated to bring a court action regarding infringement within the geographical area the license applies. The trademark owner is entitled to bring an action within same area. The parties are free to regulate this question as they wish in an agreement.