Norway – A High Quality And Efficient Jurisdiction For Patent Litigation

The Norwegian legal system has a framework that makes it a favourable choice of jurisdiction for the litigation of patents. A specialized venue accompanied by expert lay judges forms the basis for high quality judgements. The patents may be enforced by preliminary injunctions and the courts are also relatively efficient processing main cases, which may include both infringement of a patent and invalidity. In addition, the Norwegian courts do not necessarily await proceedings in the EPO to conclude on a matter.

This article will provide a general overview of procedures, laws and regulations that are relevant for patent litigation in Norway.

1 INTRODUCTION

Norway has an effective and well-functioning court system. All patent cases, both infringement and revocation actions, begin in the Oslo District Court, which is the largest and most professional of the District Courts, and the cases are heard by specialized legal and expert lay judges. The expert lay judges are