Trade mark. Any ‘sign’ that can be used to indicate the origin of a company’s goods or services may be protected as a trade mark. This could be a word or a letter, a logo, a colour, a sound or the design of a product. The only requirement is that the sign in question is capable of communicating the origin of a product or service, in other words, that it functions as an indication of origin. In principle, a trade mark right relates to specific, defined products or services.
Protection. A trade mark right grants the trade mark proprietor the exclusive right to use the trade mark – or any sign confusingly similar to it – in relation to similar goods or services. Where the trade mark is a well-known trade mark, the protection also extends to the use of signs similar to it, whereby an unjustified advantage is derived from the well-known trade mark or the reputation or distinctive character of that well-known trade mark is undermined.
Trade mark registration. Trade mark rights must be applied for and are granted following an examination. At the time of application, the sign must be capable of functioning as a sign distinguishing the origin of the goods or services specified.
Duration. A trade mark right has, in principle, an unlimited term of validity linked to the actual use of the trade mark. However, a trade mark registration must be renewed on a regular basis. If a trade mark is not put to normal use for an uninterrupted period of five years, the trade mark right may, in principle, be declared to have lapsed.
International. Trade mark rights applicable in the Netherlands are Benelux trade marks or EU trade marks, which are based on, respectively, a Benelux registration with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (‘BBIE’) or a registration for the European Union with the European Union Intellectual Property Office in Alicante (‘EUIPO’).
Trade mark agents. Applying for trade marks also requires a certain level of expertise, particularly where international registrations are concerned. Trade mark agents specialise in this field.