NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Vebjørn Krag Iversen, Nora Bratheim, Kristin Erstad Remvik and Guro S. K. Nybø, Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma AS
and legal arguments; also, new evidence and argu ‑ ments are allowed. The appeal hearing in the appellate court will normally take place about a year after an appeal was made. A judgment is normally expected within four to ten weeks of the hearing, depending on the complexity of the case. A further appeal is possible to the Supreme Court; however, leave for appeal is only granted if the appeal raises principal points of law for which guidance from the Supreme Court would be deemed useful. The appeal hearing in the Supreme Court will normally take place within three to five months of an appeal being made to the Supreme Court. A judgment is nor ‑ mally expected two to four weeks after the Supreme Court hearing. 7.2 Appeal Court(s) Arbiter The “Borgarting” Court of Appeal decides patent liti ‑ gation appeals from the Oslo District Court in the first instance. The appeal is heard by three legal judges and there is no specialisation in patent matters; however, the appellate court will be assisted by two appointed expert lay judges. An appeal to the Supreme Court is heard by five legal judges and, as in the Court of Appeal, there is no spe ‑ The Oslo District Court is the mandatory venue for design, trade mark and patent cases. IP proceedings are, however, dealt with in accordance with the gen ‑ eral procedural rules set out in the Norwegian Dispute Act. 8. Other Relevant Forums/Procedures 8.1 The UPC or Other Forums On 1 June 2023, the EU’s unitary patent and the Uni ‑ fied Patent Court (UPC) came into effect. Norway is not part of the UPC. Therefore, unitary patents will not have effect in Norway. Further, decisions from the UPC will also not have direct effect in Norway. The holder of the relevant right may request that the Customs Authority retains goods that are in the cialisation in patent matters. 7.3 Special Provisions
authority’s control if there is reasonable suspicion that the importation of said goods will constitute: • a violation of the individual’s rights under the Nor ‑ wegian Marketing Act; or • an infringement of their IP rights such as a patent or copyright. This may be done if the infringement consists of an imitation of someone else’s product, characteristic, advertising material or other similar material. The holder of the right must send an application to the Customs Authority containing, among other things: • the applicant’s name and address; • potential agent’s name and address; • a list of the IP rights in question; and • information making it possible to identify authentic goods. 9. Alternative Dispute Resolution 9.1 ADR Options The parties are not required to undertake mediation before commencing court proceedings. Nevertheless, according to Section 5-4 of the Norwegian Dispute Act, the parties shall consider whether it is possible to reach an amicable settlement of the dispute before action is brought and shall make an attempt at set ‑ tlement. According to Section 8-1 of the same Act, the court shall also – at each stage of the case – consider the possibility of a full or partial amicable settlement of the legal dispute through mediation or judicial mediation, unless the nature of the case or other circumstances suggest otherwise. Mediation or arbitration is, how ‑ ever, not commonly used in patent disputes.
10. Settlement/Antitrust 10.1 Considerations and Scrutiny
The parties cannot agree upon terms prohibited by Norwegian competition law or EEA/EU competition law. Terms that restrict competition in the relevant
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