– Patents Act No. 17/1991, in force since January 1, 1992, with subsequent amendments.
– Regulation on Patents No. 477/2012, in force since May 21, 2012, repealing Regulation No. 574/1991, and Advertisement of Instructions concerning Patent Applications No. 575/1991, as subsequently amended.

– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act.
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since September 13, 1986.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since January 1, 1995.
– Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms, since March 23, 1995.
– Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since March 23, 1995.
– European Patent Convention (EPC), since November 1, 2004.
– London Agreement on the application of Article 65 EPC (in force since May 1, 2008).
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since November 27, 2004.

Applicant: inventor (one or more persons) or his assignee (one or more persons or companies). A corporate body cannot figure as inventor. 

Applicants not living in the country: must appoint a representative residing in the European Economic Area. Foreigners enjoy the same rights as Icelandic citizens. 

Naming of inventor(s): inventor(s)’s name(s) is/are published. Applicants other than the inventor(s) must indicate how they have derived their right to the invention. 

Notion of the invention: novel products, chemical and pharmaceutical compounds, methods and uses, showing inventive merit and usefulness in industry. An explanation is required showing how the asserted useful effect, justifying the grant of the patent, is actually obtained.

Novelty: any prior disclosure of any sort anywhere invalidates novelty. An older Icelandic application which in due time becomes publicly accessible (eighteen months after filing date or priority date) may also be a novelty bar to a more recent application. 

Exception: prior publication (within six months before filing date) is not a novelty bar, if (1) the invention was made public through evident abuse by a third party; or (2) the invention was displayed at an officially recognized exhibition according to the Paris Convention.

Exceptions to protection (unpatentable inventions): (1) inventions contrary to morality or public order; (2) plant and animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of plants and animals (except, however, microbiological methods and products obtained thereby, which are patentable). 

Microbiological processes: if in carrying out the invention a microorganism is to be used which is neither available to the public nor can be described in the application documents so as to enable a person skilled in the art to carry out the invention with the guidance thereof, a culture of the microorganism is to be deposited in accordance with regulations given by Parliament. Such a culture of microorganism shall, when the application documents become accessible, also be made accessible on conditions stipulated by regulation.

Convention priorities: any number; partial priorities recognized. Priority is to be claimed within three months from filing date.

Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs): EU Council Regulation No. 1768/1992 has become part of the Icelandic Patents Act. However, with reference to Article 21 of the Regulation, its provisions are in force in Iceland only since January 2, 1998.

Electronic filing: mandatory.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Specification and abstract (claims exceeding 10 claims are subject to an additional fee);
2. Drawings, size exclusively 21 x 29.7 cm (A4), on white paper, clear black lines;
3. Priority document (certified copy), may be filed later (not required when transferring PCT applications into the national phase, if the priority application has been received earlier by WIPO).

Note: as of January 1, 2008, applicants do not need to file a power of attorney when filing new applications and validating European patents, if their representative has requested to the Icelandic Intellectual Property Office (ISIPO) to be excused from filing a power of attorney for applications. Such request is granted if the attorney fulfills specified requirements set by the ISIPO.

Translation of documents: as of January 1, 2002, description, claims and abstract of applications filed after that date must be translated into Icelandic in the following manner: (a) claims and abstract must be translated within eighteen months of the filing/priority date; (b) the description should be in English or Icelandic; if in another language than these, translation is required. 

Translation of national phase PCT applications: if basic documents, i.e. description, claims and abstract, are not filed in English, Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian or Swedish at the national entry deadline, a two-month term to file a translation into any of these languages is obtainable with payment of a stipulated fee. Claims and abstract of national phase PCT applications should be translated into Icelandic within an extendible term after the date of national phase entry. If the description is in an allowable language other than English or Icelandic, then a translation is required into either English or Icelandic, when the application has been conclusively accepted for granting before a patent is granted.  Time limit for entering national phase under both Chapter I and Chapter II: 31 months.

European patent validation requirements: (a) appointment of a registered national representative is not required for an applicant from an EPO member State; (b) only the claims must be translated into Icelandic, within a four-month term after the date on which the mention of the grant of the European patent is published in the European Patent Bulletin.

Deficiencies in applications: if an application is deficient, the applicant is granted a short term to correct the application. In the case of failure to respond to official action, the ISIPO considers the application to have been withdrawn and it is shelved and subsequently deleted from the Patent Register. Retrieval of a shelved application is possible within four months thereafter with payment of the stipulated fee. 

Amendment of application: can take place before acceptance. 

Alteration: an application may not be altered with regard to new matter being introduced which was not in the application as originally filed. New additional matter regarding the invention may, at the request of the applicant, be made the subject of a divisional application having as its effective filing date the date when the new matter was introduced in the basic application. 

Interference: not provided for. First application (filing or priority date) always precedes a later application. 

The specification: should comprise (1) (a) a mention of the known art, (b) a statement of the purpose of the invention, (c) a reference to the main claim, and (d) an explanation as to why the measures of the claim actually do bring about the desired effect; (2) an explanation of how each individual sub-claim, if any, enhances the effect brought about by the measure of the main claim. 

Claims: acceptable types of claims are product, method, use and second medical indication product claims (“swiss claims”). Product and method should be of the “characterized by” type. The main claim should comprise (a) a statement of the known art, (b) normally the words “characterized by”, and (c) the measures according to the invention (“the characterizing clause”). Any sub-claim should refer back to some preceding claim(s). 

Prior user: anyone who was using the invention in good faith at the time of filing, or had made substantial preparations to that effect, may continue to use it in his business provided he does so in the same manner as before. The user may assign such right with his enterprise. 

Disputes about ownership: if anyone, other than the applicant, makes claim to the ownership of the invention, the ISIPO may request the claimant to take the matter to court. In the meantime, the prosecution of the application may be postponed. 

Dispute about novelty: takes place between the ISIPO and the applicant’s Icelandic representative. 

Examination: as to form, including unity of invention, novelty and inventive merit. Lack of unity requires restriction or division. 

Extent of examination: the ISIPO considers everything brought to its notice by search, opposition, or otherwise. Applicant must inform the ISIPO of the result of novelty search and patentability evaluation in foreign countries. Generally, the ISIPO does not conduct independent examination, but relies on granted Letters Patent from one of the other Nordic countries or the EPO (preferred after Iceland joined the EPC), in making their decision concerning granting in Iceland.

Division: since an application may not contain two or more unrelated inventions, independent inventions which are described in an application on filing must be divided out and filed in separate applications. Applicant may also branch one invention out into more than one application. Divided applications may claim the filing and priority date of the parent application. 

Application kept secret: until eighteen months from filing or priority date. If withdrawn or rejected within the eighteen-month period, the application is not made publicly accessible. The secrecy period may be shortened on applicant’s request. 

Publication – registration: application number and filing date, applicant(s)’s and inventor(s)’s names and short title of invention are advertised in the month following filing. Files publicly accessible eighteen months after first filing or priority date are also advertised. After being conclusively accepted and when the specification has been translated (if necessary), the application is granted as a patent and the granting advertised, at which time the opposition period starts (nine months). 

Opposition to granting: must be filed within nine months from the date of the advertisement of granting in the ISIPO Gazette. Reasons for opposition are lack of novelty or inventive merit. Applicant is informed of the opposition and granted a term to reply. The ISIPO makes its decision on consideration of the applicant’s and the opponent’s argumentations.

Appeal: both the applicant and opponent have the possibility of appealing against any decision to the Board of Appeals. Such an appeal must be filed within two months of the ISIPO’s final decision.

Letters Patent: a patent is granted when the case has been conclusively accepted and the specification has been translated (if necessary), after which, a Letters Patent is issued. Patent number and granting date as well as application number and date, International Classification, applicant’s and inventor’s names and title of the patent are advertised. 

Beginning of protection: filing/international filing date. 

Duration – extension: granted patents which were filed according to the present Patents Act may be kept in force for twenty years from filing date. Granted patents which were filed according to the previous Patents Act, i.e. before 1992, but granted according to the present Act can be kept in force either for fifteen years from granting date (15R: filed more than five years before granting) or for twenty years from the filing date (20R: filed less than five years before granting). The protection of patents relating to pharmaceuticals or plant protection products can be extended by filing for Supplementary Protection Certificates. 

Paediatric extension: possible. 

Annuities: there are two annuity payment systems valid: (1) the old annuity payment system wherein annuities are paid for five years at a time, the first five years upon granting, the second five years just before the fifth anniversary of the granting date and the last five years just before the tenth anniversary of the granting date; (2) the new annual annuity payment system, wherein annuities always become due on each case’s filing date annually, applies to all pending applications as well as 20R patents and of course to all patents filed in accordance with the new Patents Act of 1991. Payment in advance of the due date is maximum three months and grace period is six months with a fine for late payment.

Marking of patented goods: not compulsory, but advisable. In the case of alleged infringement of patent or patent application, further information must be given upon request and without delay. 

Text of marking: “Íslenskt einkaleyfi nr. ….” or “Íslensk einkaleyfisumsókn nr. ….” (einkaleyfi = patent, umsókn = application). 

Amendment of issued patent: misleading errors may be corrected. 

Assignment: possible at any time. Recordal is not compulsory but advisable since the patentee according to the Patent Register may always be sued. Assignment document is necessary for recordal purposes.  

License for exploitation: possible at any time. Recordal is not compulsory but possible. No specific formal requirements as to documentation. Licensee may assign his license only if agreement to that effect has been made. possible at any time. Recordal is not compulsory but advisable since the patentee according to the Patent Register may always be sued. Assignment document is necessary for recordal purposes. 

Working – compulsory license: if a patent is not worked within three years from granting and four years from filing, a compulsory license may be granted to a third party, unless a valid reason for not working the patent exists. A compulsory license can however only be granted if it has not been possible to negotiate a fair license with the patentee. It may also be granted under special circumstances, e.g. in the public interest or to an owner of another patent who cannot work his patent without infringing an earlier patent.

Validation of lapsed patents: in the case of lapse due to non-payment of annuities, and provided that there exist excusable circumstances, validation is possible, upon request and payment within six months from the end of the grace period, i.e. no later than twelve months after the annuities became due. 

Invalidation: a patent may only be declared invalid in a court procedure.

Expropriation: a patent may only be expropriated in times of national emergency.