See and hear Norway's first registered multimedia brand [duration 0:09]
You may have noticed the short audio or video snippets that come when you switch on various devices, when you start an app on your mobile, when you choose a film or series to watch, or in the commercials that appear? New technology offers new opportunities, also on the brand front.
A multimedia brand is a brand that consists of both sound and elements in motion, graphics or video.
No longer a requirement for "graphic rendering"
After a change in the law in March 2023, it has been possible to submit an audio file, video or multimedia file in order to have it registered as a trademark with the Norwegian Patent and Trademark Office.
A number of Norwegian and international companies have already applied for and been granted sound marks and motion marks, but now the first application for a multimedia mark has been completed. The first registered multimedia mark belongs to the Norwegian Patent and Trademark Office, and was created by the communications agency Nucleus.
– Having exclusive rights to your trademark can be crucial to protecting what you've created. The Patent Office should be best in class here. When we now launch a new logo and multimedia brand, it is extra great to be the first with the right to a forward-looking trademark, says department director for communication and knowledge at the Patent Office Elisabet Mæland Fosse.
Elisabet Mæland Fosse
Elisabet Mæland Fosse
The reason why it is now easier to register non-traditional brand types is that the requirement that trademarks have to be "represented graphically" in order to be registered has been removed. For sound marks, this requirement meant that you had to submit sheet music, while for motion marks it meant that you had to submit still images showing a sequence. Now you can search by audio file, video file or audiovisual file.
The removal of the requirement for graphic reproduction has also made it possible to register a new type of trademark in Norway, multimedia marks. To apply for registration of a multimedia mark, one must submit an audiovisual file with sound and movement together.
Hope Norwegian companies take advantage of the opportunity
Currently, not many people have taken advantage of the opportunity to register sound marks and moving marks as trademarks. Among the registered audio brands we find several large international companies, and a few Norwegian ones.
- We are proud of our own brand and that we have Norway's first multimedia brand, but the Patent Office exists primarily to promote innovation in business. Now we want Norwegian business to explore the possibilities that exist, says Mæland Fosse.
Still the same requirements for approval
The requirements for getting sound, motion and multimedia trademarks approved are the same as for all other types of trademarks. The brand must, among other things, have a distinctive character, and not be confused with other registered brands.
Often such non-traditional trademarks will be short and simple. What is possible is difficult to say since the Norwegian Patent Office has only had to decide on one application. In contrast, we can look to the EU where Super Simon, a 22-second animated film, was finally approved as a multimedia trademark.