Trademark law

Trademark protection

To rely on trademark protection, you must list your trademark in an official trademark register. In the Benelux, you can file it with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP). In the EU as whole, you can register your trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). To protect your trademark worldwide, you file it with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva.

To be eligible for registration, a trademark must be sufficiently distinctive. This means it must function as an indication of origin of your business. The greater its distinctiveness, the stronger the protection you enjoy as the trademark owner.

In principle, a trademark registration is valid for ten years and can be renewed indefinitely. If you do not use your trademark for five years, it may be declared invalid at the request of another party.

When you register a trademark, the trademark offices check a number of things. They verify whether it is sufficiently distinctive. They also make sure it is not misleading, contrary to public policy or accepted principles of morality. They do not check whether your trademark infringes an earlier registered trademark. That is your own responsibility.

Therefore, before registering and using a trademark and/or logo, we advise you to examine any older, conflicting trademarks and trade names used by other parties. This will save you from having to change your trademark after you have already invested in it.

Protecting domain names

A domain name can also infringe someone else’s trademark, for example if it contains another party’s trademark name. Trademark law can be used to act against such infringements, for example by demanding the transfer of the domain name.

Legal advice on trademark infringements

Once your trademark is registered, you have the exclusive right to use it for the goods and services for which you have registered it. Other companies may not use it for those goods or services. Nor may they use names, logos, packaging, or other signs that resemble your trademark. If they do, then you can take action against such infringements.

Nysingh’s lawyers are happy to advise you in the event that your trademark rights are being infringed, or if another party claims that you are infringing their trademark. We work efficiently and always aim for a pragmatic solution. However, we also take robust legal action when necessary. We have extensive experience with various administrative trademark procedures as well as civil proceedings, both domestically and internationally, such as preliminary injunctions, proceedings on the merits, and ex parte actions and seizure procedures.

Our specialists are well-versed in IP and trademark law. We work for both Dutch and international companies, including several well‑known brands and retail chains, as well as trademark attorneys, design studios, and advertising agencies.

Please feel free to contact us if you need specific and practical advice on matters including:

• Copyright infringements (including potential ones), both domestically and abroad
• International (selective or exclusive) distribution networks
• Drafting and reviewing licence and distribution agreements
• Parallel imports
• Invalidation of trademarks
• Seeking injunctions, damages or surrender of profits
• Defending against infringement claims from third parties
• International aspects of trademark law
• Transferring trademark rights

Contact us

If you have any questions regarding intellectual property rights or need legal advice in that regard, feel free to contact our specialists.

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