Terms and conditions
1. The assignment
These standard assignment terms and conditions shall apply to all assignments involving Bryn Aarflot AS and you as the client (hereafter the client).
All assignments shall be ordered by the client in writing and shall take contractual effect when confirmed by Bryn Aarflot.
If, after reviewing these terms and conditions, the client wishes to cancel the assignment, including if the client does not accept the specified terms and conditions, the client shall give immediate notice in writing. The assignment shall then be terminated and fees accumulated up to termination of the assignment shall be invoiced.
If a written agreement is concluded to expand or amend the assignment at a later date, the expanded assignment shall be performed without further confirmation.
Bryn Aarflot ‘s assignment as an agent in trademark, patent, design and other intellectual property matters shall be ongoing. Once an exclusive right has been established through registration or an application has been submitted, the agent assignment shall encompass notice of renewal and other events, including but not limited to approval requests, third-party claims, third-party notices, etc.
The assignment shall not cover tax issues unless specifically stated in writing.
2. Performance of the assignment
Bryn Aarflot BAA provides technical and legal assistance at all levels to national and international clients. Bryn Aarflot is subject to a duty of confidentiality in respect of information it receives in cases. All Bryn Aarflot staff have signed written confidentiality declarations.
3. Matters within the client’s knowledge
The proper performance of the assignment is conditional upon the client passing on all relevant information and providing all relevant documentation in connection with the assignment.
The client shall be obliged to notify changes of name and address. All notifications from Bryn Aarflot will be sent to the client’s last specified address. Bryn Aarflot accepts no liability for losses of rights resulting from Bryn Aarflot not receiving instructions from the client because Bryn Aarflot does not have the correct address and contact information for the client.
The client shall be responsible for complying with deadlines notified by Bryn Aarflot, and Bryn Aarflot accepts no liability for losses of rights resulting from Bryn Aarflot not receiving instructions before the expiry of a deadline.
4. Liability for case outcome
Bryn Aarflot accepts no legal liability for the achievement of the desired outcome in the case.
In connection with any court case, the client may risk being ordered to cover the opponent’s legal costs and to pay court fees, in addition to its own costs. The client shall bear all liability in this regard.
If a court decision awards legal costs to the client, but the amount is less than the fee Bryn Aarflot has claimed/will claim from the client, the client shall be liable to BAA for the difference.
5. Limitation of liability
(a) Except for in cases where it has been established by legally binding decision or settlement or written acknowledgment from Bryn Aarflot that Bryn Aarflot has acted willfully, Bryn Aarflot’s liability in connection with the assignment shall be limited to an amount equivalent to NOK 40 million.
(b) Bryn Aarflot is not responsible for any losses resulting from loss of use, contracts, data, goodwill, income or profits, consequential damages, special, indirect, incidental or punitive damages, compensation or expenses incurred in connection with the assignment.
(c) The limitation of liability mentioned in point (a) applies to the sum of all claims made in connection with the assignment, regardless of whether the claims are made at the same time or at different times.
6. Prices
Bryn Aarflot’s fees shall not be conditional upon the outcome of the case, and shall be paid regardless of the result in the case or whether the case is ended.
Bryn Aarflot’s fees shall normally be calculated based on the time Bryn Aarflot has spent on the assignment and in accordance with the hourly rates applicable at any given time. Hourly rates shall be sent to the client upon request. Bryn Aarflot reserves the right to amend its hourly rates, including with effect for assignments on which work has already begun. When calculating its fee, Bryn Aarflot may also take account of the complexity and intensity of the assignment, previously performed specialist work, the sums involved, the result achieved and whether the assignment can be characterised as urgent. A fee estimate is only intended to be indicative for budgeting purposes, and shall not be deemed a fixed price unless agreed in writing.
In certain cases, Bryn Aarflot may issue invoices for its services based on fixed fees in accordance with the price list applicable at any given time. In cases where a fixed fee is quoted, Bryn Aarflot’s work shall be invoiced accordingly. Assistance additional to the work covered by the fixed-fee invoice shall be invoiced based on the number of hours spent and any expenses and disbursements incurred.
7. Invoicing and payment
Unless otherwise agreed, the assignment shall be invoiced in accordance with time spent, including on preparations, meetings, supplementary work and travel time where relevant.
Bryn Aarflot shall be entitled to invoice accrued fees and any disbursements on an ongoing basis. Bryn Aarflot reserves the right to invoice in advance, or to claim pre-payment or payment in cash.
Unless otherwise agreed, payment of any invoice issued by Bryn Aarflot is due within 14 days of its issue date.
In the event of late payment, penalty interest shall accrue and be calculated pursuant to the Interest on Overdue Payments Act of 17 December 1976 No. 100.
8. Expenses and disbursements
In the performance of the assignment, Bryn Aarflot shall be entitled to incur, on behalf of the client, all necessary expenses and disbursements unless instructed otherwise. Bryn Aarflot shall not charge any mark-up or supplement when invoicing expenses and disbursements, with the exception of payable value added tax and a currency risk of 9 % where disbursements in foreign currency have been advanced by Bryn Aarflot.
If Bryn Aarflot engages consultants, experts, foreign lawyers/advisers or other third parties on behalf of the client, it shall do so as the client’s representative, and the client shall be liable for the third party’s fees, other costs and any fees or charges. This shall apply irrespective of whether the third party’s fees and expenses are invoiced directly or via Bryn Aarflot.
9. Communications
Bryn Aarflot communicates with the client’s staff, partners or advisers as considered appropriate in each individual case. Bryn Aarflot shall be notified if the case is subject to particular confidentiality or only specified persons are authorised to discuss the matter or to communicate with Bryn Aarflot. Bryn Aarflot seeks to communicate with its clients in an effective manner, including by email where appropriate. However, email correspondence is not considered a secure form of communication, although Bryn Aarflot has strong security tools in place to minimise the risk inherent in electronic communications. If the client does not wish to use email, or if such communications must be encrypted, Bryn Aarflot shall be explicitly notified in each individual case.
10. Conflicts of interest
In the course of its assignments, Bryn Aarflot often works on innovations. Handling clients’ business secrets correctly is thus a fundamental prerequisite for Bryn Aarflot’s operations. To be able to perform assignments as effectively as possible, Bryn Aarflot must have broad experience of different technical and legal matters, in all sectors. This gives Bryn Aarflot technical, legal and commercial expertise that benefits its clients. Accordingly, Bryn Aarflot will work on assignments for several different clients in the same sector or technical area. In Bryn Aarflot’s experience, conflicts of interest are rare. Bryn Aarflot has introduced procedures for dealing with the small number of cases where a conflict may arise.
11. Special provisions
If Bryn Aarflot’s assignment does not explicitly include investigations of previously established rights, prior art or designs, such investigations shall not be undertaken when assisting with the establishment of industrial rights such as patents, trademarks and design rights.
If the client ceases to make payments due to payment difficulties, Bryn Aarflot shall be entitled to terminate the assignment/agent relationship unilaterally.
12. Artificial intelligence
In the course of our work, Bryn Aarflot AS reserves the right to utilize artificial intelligence (AI). This includes using client information as part of prompts in our proprietary, closed AI systems. A “prompt” is a text, question or instruction that is used to initiate a response or action from AI. It is important to note that the AI systems we use will not employ client data as training data. We commit to handling all client information with the utmost confidentiality and in accordance with applicable data protection regulations. The use of AI in our work is always aimed at enhancing the quality and efficiency of the services we provide, while ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of all information processed.