Trade Mark Registration in the Netherlands and the Benelux

No. There is no Netherlands-only trade mark: one Benelux filing at BOIP covers Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and BOIP calls this Benelux mark the national one. For wider cover, an EU trade mark filed at EUIPO protects the sign across the European Union through a single application.

No. The name your business runs under is a trade name, and using it protects it only in the region where the business is active. Exclusive rights across Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg need a registered trade mark, and a trade name may not contain another holder's mark (art. 5a Trade Name Act).

No, the application fee is not refunded. BOIP sends a provisional refusal with its reasons (art. 2.11 BCIP), and you can object in writing within six months. A final refusal can be appealed to the Benelux Court of Justice within two months of notification (art. 1.15bis BCIP). Hence the distinctiveness check before filing.

Yes. An opposition on relative grounds is lodged in writing within two months of the publication of your application (art. 2.14(1) BCIP), and it counts only once its EUR 1,045 fee is paid (art. 2.14(4)). The losing side pays EUR 1,045 to the other. No official duration of an opposition procedure is published.

BOIP's published requirements mention a representative only where one files the application. Filing is not reserved: BOIP accepts applications by the applicant in person through My BOIP or by a representative. Whether an applicant with no seat in the Benelux must give an address for service is not stated in that list; we check that point before filing.

No one is obliged to register. But without a registration nobody can invoke protection in court for a sign as a trade mark, whatever the claim, unless it is a well-known mark (art. 2.19(1) BCIP). Using a trade name gives only local protection, and the exclusive right itself is acquired by registration (art. 2.2 BCIP).

BOIP's 2026 schedule charges EUR 244 for a Benelux mark including one class, EUR 27 for the second class and EUR 81 for each class from the third, all exempt from VAT. That makes EUR 271 for two classes, EUR 352 for three and EUR 514 for five. Our own fee is quoted on request.

BOIP puts it at about three months on average from application to registration, when nobody opposes. An opposition can stretch that, and no official duration is published for it. The accelerated route registers the mark at once (art. 2.8(2) BCIP), but examination and opposition still follow and can reverse it without a refund.

Ten years, counted from the date the application was filed, not from the date of registration (art. 2.9(1) BCIP). It can be renewed for further ten-year periods. The renewal fee is paid in the six months before expiry, and the registered sign may not be changed during the registration or at renewal (art. 2.9(2) BCIP).

Search the BOIP Trademarks Register first. The KVK Name Check and the BOIP Name checker search the KVK Business Register and the Trademarks Register in one query, which also catches trade names. For marks at other offices, TMview searches across them. BOIP itself gives no advice on an individual situation.

Either works. A trade mark can be transferred independently of the business, but the transfer is void unless it is in writing and covers the whole Benelux (art. 2.31 BCIP). BOIP records it for EUR 56 for the first mark. The ten-year term still runs from the original filing date, whoever holds the mark.

Yes. If the holder has made no genuine use of the mark in the Benelux for the registered goods and services within five years after the registration procedure is completed (art. 2.23bis(1) BCIP), the mark can be revoked (art. 2.27(2) BCIP). The part of the list left unused is exposed in the same way.

Online in My BOIP, in the six months before the registration expires: EUR 263 including one class in 2026. Renewal is still possible in the six months after expiry with a EUR 135 surcharge (art. 2.9(4) BCIP). BOIP sends a reminder, but missing it is no excuse (art. 2.9(6)), and the sign may not be changed.

An EU trade mark at EUIPO costs EUR 850 online for one class, EUR 50 for the second and EUR 150 for each class from the third, and the fees are not refundable. A Benelux mark costs EUR 244 for one class at BOIP. An EU mark is refused in full if the sign fails in one member state.

Through the Madrid System. From the Benelux, the application is filed through BOIP, not with WIPO directly, and a Benelux registration serves as its basis; business.gov.nl also names an EU registration as a possible basis. BOIP charges a forwarding fee of 100 Swiss francs, and WIPO's own fees are paid to WIPO, as its fee calculator shows.