Registered trademarks

Large businesses

Self-employed

SMEs

With fees

A trademark embodies the identity of a product or service. It may take various forms: any graphic representation which distinguishes a business's products or services from those of its competitors may constitute a trademark. A trademark may be:

a wordmark – i.e., the name under which a product or service is marketed;
a figurative mark, e.g. a logo, a figure, etc.;
or a semi-figurative mark comprising both elements, e.g., words rendered using specific characters, or with a specific layout.

Registering a trademark as a complement to a patented product or a registered drawing could considerably increase the commercial value of a business's goodwill or visual identity once the patent, registered drawing or industrial model has expired. Unlike a trademark, whose registration can be renewed indefinitely, the monopoly on use of a patent is restricted to 20 years at most.

Luxembourg does not have a national trademark protection scheme. As such, all trademark filings will be registered in the 3 Benelux countries.

When a trademark is registered, the holder is afforded certain statutory rights. Subject to certain conditions, these rights can be asserted to prevent others from using the trademark without the owner's prior consent, and thereby prevent counterfeiting.

Who is concerned

Anyone can register a trademark, be they an individual, a self-employed worker, a business or any other legal entity.

The registered holder is the only person who can use the trademark.

Acceptable marks

Any sign that can be represented graphically can be registered as a trademark, as long as it can be:

used to distinguish the goods or services of one enterprise from those of others;
represented in the register in a manner which enables the competent authorities and the public to clearly and accurately determine what is being protected.

The trademark may consist of:

a single character, letter, word or digit, or a combination thereof;
words (including slogans);
drawings;
letters;
digits;
three-dimensional signs, such as the shape of a product or its packaging;
musical or vocal sounds;
scents;
colours.

Ideas, concepts, sounds and smells may not be registered as trademarks, but trade names and advertising slogans may be.

Unacceptable marks

A mark cannot and will not be registered or will be declared null and void if it is:

a sign that cannot be used as a trademark;
devoid of any distinctive character;
contrary to public order or to accepted principles of morality;
of such a nature as to deceive the public (e.g., as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of a product or service);
identical or similar to a previously registered trademark.

Preliminary steps

Availability of a trademark

Before registering a trademark, it is advisable to perform a trademark availability search. Searches can be carried out online:

in the Benelux Trademarks register, for Benelux-wide searches;
at European level: in the EU trade marks database, for Europe-wide searches;
at international level: in the Madrid Express or Romarin international trademark databases, for international searches.

Deadlines

The trademark registration process takes:

approximately 4 months for Benelux registrations;
approximately 9 to 10 months for European registrations;
between 4 and 24 months, depending on the country, for international registrations.

The registration filing date is the most important factor. As soon as the trademark is registered, protection is retroactive to the filing date.

Period of validity

In general, a trademark is registered for a certain class of products or services, for a period of 10 years, renewable indefinitely for 10-year periods.

Priority right

Applicants who file a new trademark registration application for the Benelux countries are, as of the filing date, afforded a 6-month priority right to file a European Union trademark registration application for the same sign in other countries.

Obligations

To maintain their trademark and their exclusive right to use it, the holder must:

use the trademark: if the trademark is not used for an uninterrupted period of 5 years, the rights attaching to it may be revoked;
monitor the trademark;
renew the trademark, if they wish to do so: the competent bodies – i.e., the BOIP or the EUIPO – will notify the trademark holder 6 months before the registration is due to expire.

Opposition

If a trademark holder feels that a recently filed trademark infringes their previously registered trademark, they can file a notice of opposition. The opposition must be based on an earlier trademark right afforded through a Benelux or EU trademark, or an international trademark with a Benelux extension.

The notice of opposition must be filed within 2 months – or 3 months for a European Union trademark – of publication of the disputed registration application.

The notice of opposition may be filed in writing through the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property website, or through the EUIPO.

The opposition will be considered filed once the opposition fee has been paid.

Costs

The standard price for registering:

a Benelux trademark for 3 classes is EUR 240;
a European Union trademark ranges from EUR 900 to EUR 1,050 for 3 classes.

For an international trademark, applicants will only be required to pay one set of fees in one currency – i.e., the Swiss Franc (CHF). A fee calculator and a schedule of fees are available to help users estimate the fees payable.

Payment must be made within one month of the filing date, failing which, the date of receipt of payment will be set as the filing date. This date is important, as it sets the order of precedence.

How to proceed

Registering a trademark

Benelux

In the Benelux countries, national trademark registrations are no longer possible; trademark protection covers all 3 countries.

Trademark registration applications may be filed:

either electronically on the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property website;
or by submitting a hard-copy Benelux trademark registration application form:
- to the Office for Intellectual Property at the Ministry of the Economy (ministère de l’Économie);
- to the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property.

The standard price for registering a Benelux trademark for 3 classes is EUR 240.

The trademark registration process takes about 4 months. Registration is valid for 10 years and may be renewed indefinitely for successive 10-year periods.

European Union

If their commercial activities cover Europe, interested parties can file their trademark registration applications:

either electronically on the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) website;
or by submitting an EU trademark registration application:
- directly to the EUIPO; or
- or to the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP); or
- to the Office for Intellectual Property at the Ministry of the Economy (ministère de l’Économie).