Trademark registration

The definition of a trademark is name of a brand. A name is a way to distinguish products and services. It is meant to make comparing and choosing easier for consumers.

The most important reason to choose trademark registraion is to prevent competitors from copying or pirating your product. Beside that you can use the Ⓡ-sign. By law this sign does not have any direct worth, but it assures clients and scares off competitors. The last because you sign them you will act against violations. When you finally have a well-working company or you want to create a franchise, then you can make money by registering your trademark. You can then sell your valuable brand or give licenses.

If you want to register your trademark outside the Benelux in the whole of Europe, then you have to go to Uniemerk. Through the Uniemerk you can at once register your trademark for all of Europe. The protection is then available for all countries of the European Union. To register trademarks in Europe, you follow the procedure of the Bureau for Intellectual Property of the European Union. Benefits of this are that you can cheaply deposit your brand, but the costs of protection and maintenance can be very high. That is why you should have people research whether it is profitable enough to get a registered trademark in Europe.

Registering a trademark worldwide is a completely different story. Because there is no worldwide system for registering trademarks, and there is no unity like in the Benelux or Europe, you will have to let your trademark be protected in every country through its laws. It is possible to make a request through the international trademark registration system of Madrid. There are 80 countries affiliated with this.

Of course we will gladly discuss with you in which countries worldwide registration is tactically sound. This way we can choose the best countries where registration is necessary. We can relatively easily register trademarks in all countries of the world with our worldwide network.

The costs of registering a trademark are dependent on where you do so. Will you choose just the Benelux, or complete Europe? Furthermore, hiring a lawyer or jurist specialised in trademarks also brings extra costs. With us there are fixed rates available for this. The total price is therefore comprised of the depot and the costs for legal advice.

Of course there are no extra costs with any of our packages. The € 244,- of the BIOP or the € 850,- the OHIM asks are included in the price. If your trademark application is refused, the money will unfortunately not be returned. That is why it is usually recommended to register the trademark under supervision from a trademark-empowered, jurist or lawyer specialised in depositing trademarks.

The costs of a trademark application in the Benelux are € 244,-. Things will go through the usual procedure. An accelerated request is also possible, but brings extra costs with it. The costs are 15% higher than € 244,- if you do not register your trademark online, but want to do it on paper.

A plumber cannot be registered, but if someone registers a trademark as brand in the Chamber of Trade, then this can protect you. For example, if you register the trademark Amsterdam. Competitors in the same branch and region cannot use your brand or trademark just like that. Still, this does not offer the maximal protection when another party also wants to operate in your market using the same name. Think whether you operate nationally or internationally, because then you might want more protection than just a registration of the trademark with the Chamber of Trade.

If you want to a registered trademark, you will have to check at some point whether the trademark is already registered by someone else or not. If the trademark you have in mind is already registered, you could violate trademark rights, which could mean juridical procedures against you. You will want to prevent this, and that is why you can check in the trademark register whether a name has been registered already.

In order to deposit a brand it will have to meet three material requirements. These material requirements are from article 2.1 to 2.4 BVIE, or the Benelux Accords regarding intellectual ownership. The three requirements are:

1. Validity
2. Lawfulness
3. Legitimacy

The Bureau of Brands may, on grounds of their refusal capacities, refuse a depot of a trademark on grounds of absolute unavailability if the first two requirements are not met. The Bureau of Brands will research this themselves, and on this decide if a trademark can be protected or if it should be refused. The third requirement “Legitimacy” is only considered if there is opposition during the opposition procedure.

Your trademark is protected for 10 years, but you can always extend it after ten years. You only have to make sure you actively maintain your trademark.