Registers
BOIP Beneluxmerkenregister
The Benelux Office for Intellectual Property maintains the trademark register for the Benelux. The Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property limits its application to the territory of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in Europe — the 'Benelux territory' — and provides that the exclusive right to a trademark is acquired by registration. The Benelux register has two parts: a register of Benelux applications and a register of international applications. We retrieve the register data through the shared trademark database of the European trademark offices, under the Benelux office code.
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What this source does not give you
A trademark for the Netherlands alone does not exist: a Benelux mark covers the entire Benelux territory, and even an assignment that does not cover the whole territory is void. The register also shows the legal registration status, not the reality: whether a mark is actually used, whether it has retained its distinctive character and who prevails in an infringement action are not recorded there. EU trademarks run through the EU office, and Benelux designs are not covered by this source.
Legal domains for which LEO consults this source
Dutch legal domains; each link opens the domain page on leo.prudai.com.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I register a trademark for the Netherlands only?
- No. There is no national Dutch trademark. The Benelux Convention limits its application to the territory of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in Europe and treats that as a single territory. A Benelux mark therefore applies in all three countries at once; an assignment that does not cover the whole Benelux territory is void under the Convention.
- When does the trademark right arise?
- Through registration. The Convention provides that the exclusive right to a trademark is acquired by registration of a mark applied for within the Benelux territory, or by a registration at the International Bureau whose protection extends to the Benelux territory. A filing alone is therefore not yet a right, and use without registration confers no trademark right under this Convention.
- Which data does the register hold per trademark?
- The status of the registration — registered, lapsed, refused or opposed — with the filing date, registration date and expiry date, the holder and its representative, the Nice classes with the goods and services claimed, and the mark type (word, figurative or combined). Every record links through to the Office's own trademark register.
- Does registration prove I may use the mark?
- No. A registration records a registration status; it does not rule out earlier third-party rights and does not protect against opposition, invalidation or revocation. Whether use of a sign infringes is for a court to decide — the register gives no answer on that.
- Are EU trademarks and Benelux designs included?
- This source delivers the Benelux track. EU trademarks are retrieved through the EU trademark office source, which is connected separately. Benelux designs are not covered by this source; for those, use the Office's own register.