Doing business successfully starts with registration

“In three years I managed to build up a successful company with a strong reputation in the region. However, my trademark was not registered. Things changed once I realised how much goodwill it represented, so I went ahead and had my brand name registered."

Is my trademark still available?

Before you start using your trademark and before you arrange for its protection it is, of course, a good idea to investigate which older trademarks already exist. You can do this in a number of different ways:

How can I search?

You can carry out a (free) search yourself. The Trademarks Register contains all the filed and registered trademarks which are valid in the Benelux. This not only means Benelux trademarks but also Community Trademarks and international trademarks which designate the Benelux.

You can ask the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) to search for you (for a fee) (search form in Dutch or French and explanatory notes in Dutch or French) and establish which older trademarks exist for certain goods or services which may be grounds for an objection to the trademark that you want to register. Within a period of around three weeks you will receive a examination report which has been compiled using certain search criteria for word and image elements.

In this way, an indication can be given as to which trademarks are already registered. However, it can never be guaranteed that you will not get into a conflict with a third party. In the first place, rights other than those associated with registered older trademarks can cause problems. This applies particularly to trade names but also, for example, to copyrights or design law. Moreover, it is difficult to predict who might object to your trademark on the basis of which trademark, and your chance of success depends on all the actual and legal circumstances of that particular case.

Do things yourself or get things done by others?

You can hire a trademark agent or a lawyer specialised in intellectual property to do the examination. Specialist knowledge is required to carry out an examination and, more importantly, to interpret the results properly and estimate the risks. A lot of companies do not have the necessary specialist knowledge and it is therefore a good idea for them to seek assistance from an expert. More information is available in the section entitled "Do things yourself or get things done by others?".