TRADEMARKS

GENERAL

A trademark is a sign which identifies products/services of a particular source from those of others. Registration of trademarks allows to prevents confusion by providing the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing (similar) products/services bearing a confusingly similar trademark. The registration term is in principle indefinite provided the trademark is used and subject to the payment of renewal fees every ten years.

REQUIREMENTS

A trademark needs to be distinctive for the public. Hence, descriptive, misleading and too simple or too complex signs cannot be registered. Further, signs that will cause confusion with earlier trademark registrations are also not allowed. Registration requires a list of goods and services in accordance with the Nice classification for which the trademark will be used and the registration only remains valid if the sign is actually used for said goods and services.

BENELUX

Trademark registrations in the Benelux come in three variants:

1. Benelux trademark registration;
2. European Union trademark registration;
3. International trademark registration designating either the Benelux or the European Union.

USING TRADEMARKS IN YOUR ADVANTAGE

A question could be: why should I register my trademark, especially when I already use it for a long time?

• A registration wins from earlier use and later registrations, so you can prevent that others register;
• You can exclude others, thereby reducing confusion and counterfeits, and thus sell more;
• You can license to others to receive royalties;
• You can cash your goodwill by selling or pawning the (company with the) registered trademark;
• You can act against domain names, trade names and other unlawful acts that cause confusion or damage to reputation;
• You can use the R-sign instead of the TM sign.

ADDED VALUE TRADEMARK ATTORNEY

• Filing a trademark seems easy and can be done without the help of an expert, but using a trademark attorney has its advantages:
• The scope of protection can usually be increased by filing the trademark differently from the way it is actually used;
• The effectiveness of the registration can be increased by filing the correct list of goods and services, especially when the trademark is internationally registered; and
• Easy administration and deadline monitoring.

We are OnlinePatents:
OnlinePatents is an Intellectual Property
firm focusing ongaining competitive advantages for its clients, so that they can grow and meet their goals.

We are SOCIAL:
Our clients fiollow us on FACEBOOK
We tweet with them on TWITTER
We link professionally on LINKEDIN
But we also like to MEET IN PERSON

We are AVAILABLE:
For questions: info@onlinepatents.eu
Personal contact: 0031-10 261 80 00
Videoconference: OnlinePatents (Skype) Urgent matters: 0031-6 41 43 57 95

Copyright 2015 OnlinePatents B.V.                            Website powered bij App-Bouwen                       Business Guide                         Proclaimer