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Most intellectual property offices in the European Union cover one country only. However, there is one exception and this is the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (the “BOIP”). The BOIP allows trademark applicants to register their trademark in three countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) by filing a single trademark application.
As of the 14th of November 2024, the application fee for a BOIP trademark is EUR 244 (the first class), EUR 27 for the second class, and EUR 81 for the third class. This is a relatively low cost taking into account that the trademark covers three different countries.
One of the main advantages of the Benelux trademark registration process is its efficiency. The entire trademark registration process takes about 3 months. This is much faster than the registration procedures in other countries (for example, in Canada, it takes approximately between 24 and 36 months to register a trademark application).
The relatively short trademark procedure in the Benelux makes the procedure particularly attractive for trademark applicants who need a registered trademark quickly. For example, if you plan to apply for an international (WIPO) application and need a base application for the WIPO application, you may need a registered base trademark as soon as possible. Yes, you can use a trademark application as a basis for a WIPO application, but, if the application does not register, your entire WIPO application may be refused. This is because a WIPO application is dependent on the base application / trademark for a period of 5 years.
Furthermore, if you are an e-commerce trader who wants to “fight” copycats quickly, a registered trademark can serve as a foundation for sending
- cease and desist letters directly to the infringers as well as
- trademark infringement notices to the relevant e-commerce platforms.
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