A strong trademark is often one of the most valuable parts of a business. Your company name, logo, product packaging or slogan distinguishes you from competitors and represents your reputation and market position. Trademark law provides the legal protection to maintain this distinctiveness and effectively counteract infringement.
Bout Advocaten helps entrepreneurs and organizations register, exploit and enforce trademarks, both nationally and internationally. We advise on strategic trademark protection, litigate in trademark infringement cases and ensure that your trademark is legally sound.
A trademark is a sign that serves to distinguish a company’s goods or services from those of other companies. It can be a name or logo, but also a color combination, shape, sound or even a slogan.
Legal protection requires registration. A trademark does not arise automatically, as with copyright, but must be registered in a trademark register (such as that of the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP), the EUIPO or the international WIPO). A trademark is registered only if it meets certain conditions. Among other things, it must be sufficiently distinctive and may not be descriptive or misleading.
A trademark registration gives you the exclusive right to use your trademark for specific products or services and to take action against others who use an identical or confusingly similar sign without permission. This provides you with a powerful legal instrument to take effective action against trademark infringement, counterfeiting, confusion in the marketplace and profiteering from your reputation.
You can also take action against, for example, domain name hijacking, misleading advertising or the registration of conflicting trademarks. In addition, registration enables commercial exploitation, such as licensing or transfer of trademark rights.
Trademark infringement occurs when someone uses a sign that is identical to, or confusingly similar to, a registered trademark without authorization and that use is made for identical or similar products or services. In the case of well-known trademarks, infringement may even occur when the trademark is used for completely different products or services, for example, when this detracts from the trademark’s reputation or takes unfair advantage of its reputation.
Although in principle a trademark owner has exclusive rights, trademark law also has limits. In certain cases, a trademark may be used without the consent of the trademark owner. Such use is permitted when it takes place in accordance with honest practices in industry and commerce.
Important exceptions include:
These exceptions are subject to strict conditions. In practice, discussions often arise about what is and is not allowed. We advise on this and ensure that you stay within the legal space.
Our firm offers specialized legal support in the creation, registration, monitoring, exploitation and enforcement of trademarks. We work for corporations, marketers, scale-ups, trademark agencies and international parties with trademark portfolios.
Our intellectual property lawyers specialize in trademark law and regularly handle disputes involving trademark infringement, likelihood of confusion, use requirements or permitted trademark use.
We combine legal depth with strategic insight into brand positioning, competition and commercial value. Whether it’s a single brand or an extensive trademark portfolio, we help you protect and leverage your brand.
Do you have questions about registering, protecting or enforcing your trademark, or have you been summoned to do so? Would you like to know more about trademark law? Then contact one of our specialists using the contact details on the right of this page, fill in the contact form or email us at info@boutadvocaten.nl. You can also reach us by calling us during office hours: 050 – 314 08 40. Our trademark lawyers are ready to assist you.
