Register brand name in 9 steps

Introduction

After months of brainstorming and deliberation, have you come up with the perfect brand name for your product or service? Then of course you want to register it as soon as possible, before someone else runs off with your trademark. In this post you will learn how to register your trademark step by step and what else you should pay attention to when registering your trademark.

What is a brand name?

A brand is a unique name, term, symbol, logo or a combination thereof used to identify and distinguish a company, product or service from other companies, products or services in the marketplace. Thus, your brand name is part of your brand. Your brand name can be the name of your company, but so can the goods or services themselves. For example, soft drink manufacturer The Coca Cola Company sells the product Coca Cola, but also Fanta and Sprite, for example. These are all brand names of The Coca Cola Company.

What is the difference between a brand name and trade name?

It is important to realize that a brand name is not the same as a trade name. Brand names are names you use to distinguish your products and services from your competition.

The trade name, on the other hand, is the name you used when you registered with the Chamber of Commerce and by which your business is referred to. Therefore, if you have registered your company with the Chamber of Commerce, you have not registered a brand name. Do you want to register your trade name? Read our post How to choose and register the right trade name.

Why register your trademark?

Your unique brand or name are essential to the success of your business. Therefore, you want to make sure that other companies cannot offer the same products under (almost) the same name. That could damage your business considerably, because similar names confuse customers. That is why it is important to protect your trademark, and you can do so by registering it with BOIP.

What is BOIP?

What is BOIP? The Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) is the official body for registering trademarks and designs in the Benelux. BOIP can also record the creation of an idea on a specific date in an i-DEPOT. Since 1971, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg have already had the same rules for protecting entrepreneurs' trademarks. For protecting designs, the laws have been the same since 1975. In 2006, the Benelux Treaty on Intellectual Property (BTIP) was signed. There is now one treaty in which design law is clearly regulated. On this basis, entrepreneurs in the Benelux can obtain exclusive rights to their trademark, design or drawing. Their trademark is thus protected and worth more.

What is the BOIP Trademark Register?

The BOIP Trademark Register is a database containing all registered trademarks. You can register your own trademark in it and you can look up which trademarks already exist. You can also see for which services and products that trademark is registered. The BOIP website makes it easy to search for a trademark. This is useful if you want to register a trademark yourself, because you will immediately gain insight into the trademarks that already exist. It is now also possible to look up whether your logo is distinctive enough, by uploading an image of your logo in the Trademark Register. You will then see if other logos have been found that are similar to yours. So you can use the trademark register to check whether your brand name already exists.

Check if a brand name is already registered

How to register your trademark with BOIP: 9 steps

There are a number of rules and conditions you need to take into account when registering your trademark. To get you started, we have written out a step-by-step plan on how to register your trademark in the Benelux Trademark Register.

1. Check the BOIP Trademark Register to see if your desired trademark name does not already exist. Also check the Chamber of Commerce trade register to see if the name already exists.
2. Have you chosen a unique brand name? Then apply to BOIP for your trademark registration.
3. BOIP will then verify that your application meets all the legal requirements for a trademark registration.
4. Is everything complete? Then BOIP sets a filing date. That is the date on which a trademark or design registration was applied for.
5. BOIP verifies that your products and services are clearly described and classified in the correct class. If this is in order, your application is officially published in the BOIP Trademark Register.
6. From that date, a two-month period begins during which brand owners with similar products or brand names can object to your application.
7. BOIP verifies that your trademark is a trademark according to the legal rules.
8. Is there no objection to your application? Then your trademark will be registered. Has an objection been filed and has the objector started a so-called opposition procedure? Then you and the opponent can defend your case. BOIP will decide who is right. If you are successful, both your trademark and the opposing party's trademark will remain in the trademark register. The other party will have to pay you 1045 euros.
9. If your trademark is approved by BOIP, then you have a 10-year right to use that trademark exclusively within the Benelux. So no one else can use your trademark name during this period. After 10 years, you can renew your trademark registration so that you continue to have the exclusive right to use the trademark name.

Register brand name with BOIP

Conditions for filing a trademark

To obtain trademark rights, your mark must be distinctive. Therefore, check the following before filing a trademark.

• Your brand must be unique. A brand that is very similar to another brand may be rejected.
• Your brand name should not be too generic. If you are going to start a flower store, then you cannot register the brand name Flower Shop.
• Your brand name should not be misleading.

The complete legislation regarding trademark registration in the Benelux is too extensive to discuss in this post. If you want to know everything about this and if you like tough, legal stuff, you can find all the information on this subject in the Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property (BTIP).

How can you file a trademark internationally?

After you file your trademark in the BIOP trademark register, you can register your trademark internationally at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This organization has 193 member countries.

WIPO tests your registration in each of these countries separately. Should there be any objections in a particular country, it will only affect that country and not others. Your application for trademark registration at WIPO is based on your already filed name at the BIOP. Your internationally registered trademark is also fixed for 10 years and this registration can also be renewed.

Register trademark within the European Union: Union trademark

So through the above steps, you can register your trademark in 90 countries around the world. However, it is also possible to file your trademark directly with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). With the Union trademark, a brand name gets protection for a period of 10 years in the E.U., after which you can also renew it again.

Register trademark with EUIPO

Trademark filing costs

Capturing your trademark does come with a price tag. The following prices are exempt from VAT. Please note that if your name is rejected, the filing fee will not be refunded. So do proper research before filing a trademark.

• Filing trademark BOIP: from €244.
  • Request emergency registration BOIP: from € 440.
  • Extend trademark registration by 10 years with BOIP: from € 263.
• Filing trademark WIPO: the costs depend on how many countries you want to register your trademark in. WIPO provides a calculator for this on its website.
• Filing trademark EUIPO: from €850.

You now have all the information you need to establish your brand name. Are you still looking for a fun, original name for your brand? With us you will find an extensive collection of fun names including a logo. We also offer custom branding programs in which we create a unique, fitting brand for your organization.

Register company name with trademark

You've started a new business and you want to register your company name as a trademark. But what does that process entail?

First, you must file a trademark application with the RFO. The application requires you to provide a description of your goods or services, as well as your company's name and logo.

Once the RFO has reviewed your application and determined that it meets all the requirements, it will issue a trademark registration certificate. This certificate serves as proof that you own the trademark and can use it to protect your brand.

How long does it take to register a trademark?

On average, it takes three months to apply for and register a trademark, but BOIP also has an emergency procedure.

Need help coming up with a good brand name? Contact us without obligation to see what we can do.