NBPR carries a long tradition

The history of the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR) started in 1835 when a Manufacture Board was established in the Senate of Finland.

Read more: 175 years of Manufacture Board´s heritage (pdf)

In 1842, the Imperial Senate of Finland granted the first Finnish patent on suggestion of the Manufacture Board.

• 1885: The Industrial Board was established and the functions of the Manufacture Board were transferred to the Industrial Board.
• 1889: Registration of trademarks began.
• 1896: The Trade Register was established.
• 1919: The Industrial Board was discontinued and matters relating to patents, trademarks and the Trade Register were trusted with the Board of Trade and Industry.
• 1921: Finland became a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
• 1926: The Board of Trade and Industry was discontinued and matters relating to patents, trademarks and the Trade Register were trusted with the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
• 1942: The National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR) was established.
  

The NBPR since 1942

• 1971: First registered design
• 1980: Patent Cooperation Treaty, PCT
• 1992: First utility model
• 1992: Board of Directors was appointed for the NBPR
• 1995: The Register of Foundations and the Register of Associations were transferred to the NBPR
• 1995: The Advisory Committee for Associations was established
• 1996: Finland became a full member of the European Patent Organisation (EPO)
• 1997: Finland became a member of OHIM, the EU Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (trademarks and designs)
• 1997: The Advisory Committee for Enterprise Issues was established
• 2005: The NBPR became an international searching and examining PCT authority (ISA and IPEA)
• 2008: Ministry of Employment and the Economy was established; NBPR belongs to its group of agencies
• 2009: first bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Agreement