A Norwegian patent is valid for 20 years as of the filing date if annuities are duly paid. The annuities for the three first years are paid upon the filing of the application, and all other annuities are paid on an annual basis.

Our computer system keeps a watch on all annuities payment. Our standard routines include sending you a first warning three months before the annuity payment is due and a second warning two months later (one month before the deadline), requesting your written confirmation that the annuities should be paid. For the clients who so wish, we automatically pay all annuities unless we are specifically instructed not to pay.

If we receive no instructions, we will send additional reminders. If no confirmation can be received before the deadline, the annuities will not be paid. However, the patent/patent application remains active if the fee and a penalty fee is paid within six months of the ordinary deadline. We will send you a penalty warning three months before the reinstatement term expires. We also send such penalty warnings to the clients who have outsourced all annuities payments to companies such as CPA, Master Data, Dennemeyer & Co, Ltd. og Patrafee.

For pharmaceuticals and plant protection products, it is possible to receive an extended protection of up to 5 years by applying for a Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC).