NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Camilla Vislie, Magnus Hauge Greaker, Julie Rasmussen Solli and Amalie Hauge Pedersen, Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS
es. In the end, the court decides who will be appointed. 8.2 Effect of Registration Registered and unregistered trade marks enjoy the same protection under Norwegian law. As the court is not bound by NIPO’s decisions, holding a trade mark registration only gives an assumption of a right; ie, that the mark is valid and not infringing. To maintain the protection, trade marks must be used within five years after the date of regis - tration. The same applies where use has been discontinued for five years. In case of non-use/ discontinuation, the registration may be deleted, unless there are reasonable grounds for the non- use/discontinuation of the mark. Copyrights cannot be registered in Norway. 8.3 Costs of Litigating Infringement Actions The costs of bringing an infringement action to a conclusion in the first instance will normally be in the range of EUR30,000 to EUR150,000, depending on the scope and complexity of the case. 9. Defences and Exceptions to Infringement 9.1 Defences to Trade Mark Infringement The defendant may argue several defences against trade mark infringement: • no likelihood of confusion; • an earlier right to use the sign exists; • the sign is used in a descriptive or informative manner;
• violation of the right to use a personal name or a geographical origin; • the trade mark owner has not used the trade mark within five years of registration; • the trade mark has become generic; • the use of the trade mark has been tolerated by the trade mark owner (“accepted use”); or • the trade mark must be declared invalid. 9.2 Defences to Copyright Infringement (Fair Use/Fair Dealing) Instead of a fair use doctrine, the Copyright Act provides an explicit list of exceptions and limita - tions to copyrights. The most important excep - tions and limitations are: • certain temporary, technical acts of reproduc - tion; • parodies and satire if they are deemed an independent work; • private copying on certain conditions; • exhausted copyrights (see 9.3 Exhaustion ); • exhibition of works published or copies sold by the author; • quotation of published work in accordance with good practice and to the extent required for that purpose; • use by the press when related to current top - ics, in accordance with good practice and as required for that purpose; • use for educational purposes on certain con - ditions; or • use in libraries and archives on certain condi - tions. 9.3 Exhaustion Trade Marks Under Norwegian law, once goods bearing a trade mark are put on the EEA market by the owner of the mark or with the owner’s consent, the owner is no longer entitled to oppose the use
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