FAQ on patents
The application fee depends on the ISIPO’s current tariff, which only extends to national applications. It is difficult to estimate the total cost of a patent with any degree of accuracy, but one of the factors is the number of patent claims. Ten claims are included, but an additional fee must be paid for any claims in excess of this.
It is common for an Icelandic application to be used as the basis (priority right) for applications in other countries, as patents have to be protected in each country. Translation costs may be added to the application fees and an annual fee must be paid for the application in each country.
A patent allows for the protection of the technical implementation of an idea. The idea itself cannot be protected, only its expression, e.g. equipment, products, methods or use. The invention must be new on a global scale on the date of application and the technical implementation must be sufficiently different from what is already known. The invention must furthermore be suitable for industrial application and its description must be sufficiently clear to enable a person skilled in the art to carry out the invention. The invention may not be made public prior to the date of application, either by the inventor, the applicant or any other party.
The ISIPO recommends seeking the assistance of an intellectual property rights expert when preparing a patent application.
A patent application may be filed with the ISIPO. In order to apply for a patent, the applicant must be domiciled in Iceland or else appoint a representative to file the application.
An annual fee must be paid to maintain the application and consequently the patent. Patents are valid for 20 years from the date of filing.
Description: The idea must be described in detail from its inception through to its completion. A description should be provided of how the invention works, how it is different from what already exists, who will find it useful etc. The description must be accurate enough for the person investigating the novelty of the invention to understand it by reading the description. It is therefore important to provide more rather than less information.
Claims: This is a list of what the patent for the invention should protect. It is important to describe exactly what should be protected in each claim. In the event of legal proceedings regarding the patent, these claims would indicate what aspects of the invention should be protected by the patent. Careful wording is therefore highly important.
Summary: A brief overview, no more than 150 words, of the content of the application.
Drawings: Attaching drawings to the application is a plus, if appropriate, but it is not necessary.
Patent applications must always be carefully prepared. It should be kept in mind that all applications must be prepared according to particular rules (form and layout), such as rules on fonts, page numbers, line numbering and other layout features. The more care you take in preparing the application, the more likely you are to get positive results from the investigation. We recommend consulting intellectual property right experts who can assist with writing the application.
Examples of patents can be found in the Espacenet database, among other places. It may be useful to examine applications or patents issued in the field of the invention.
It is difficult to say how long the application process will take. It depends on the investigation findings and other factors. Applicants can expect the process to take at least 18 months and possibly as long as several years. It is not uncommon for three years to pass before a patent is granted.
An application filed with the ISIPO is only valid in Iceland. The applicant has 12 months from the filing date to decide whether to apply overseas, e.g. using an international process.
All applications are published 18 months after the filing date. Until then, all the data relating to the application is kept confidential. Once it is published, the application will be publicly accessible and considered to be known technology in relation to other applications.