A trade mark is any sign, symbol or external appearance that distinguishes a product or service from competing products or services.

In the Benelux it is not compulsory to register a trade mark, however, it is highly recommanded because without registration, a trade mark enjoys no protection.

A word, image, shape, trade name, slogan, logo or, where appropriate, sound or colour can be registered as a trade mark.

The Benelux Office for Intellectual Property will refuse a trade mark if:

• the trade mark has no distinguishing characteristics
• the trade mark offends public decency or is a danger to public order
• the trade mark could mislead the public
• the trade mark consists of a flag or an emblem, which is protected under the Paris Convention

The third party may file opposition against a trademark if the trademark is identical or similar to a prior trademark and covers identical or similar goods and/or services. Opposition is a simple and relatively fast administrative procedure that enables the owner of an older trade mark to lodge an objection with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property against the registration of a younger, identical or similar, trade mark.

Yes, since January 1st, 2004, the Benelux Trade Mark Act has provided a procedure for the lodging of objections and/or oppositions. This procedure allows you to lodge an objection against a younger identical or similar trade mark that has been filed for identical or similar products or services. An opposition can be filed within two months from the first day following the publication of the trade mark application. Your expert at Novagraaf can provide further assistance when dealing with an objection and/or opposition.

The period of validity of a Benelux trademark registration is 10 years from the day on which the application is submitted to the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property. Registration can be renewed for subsequent periods of 10 years. Protection commences the day the trade mark is actually registered in the Benelux Trade Mark Register.

A Benelux Design registration is initially valid for five years and can be renewed for four subsequent periods of five years up to a maximum of 25 years.

The copyright protection ends 70 years after the death of the creator. The right is automatically inherited by the statutory or testamentary heirs with the exception of moral rights. In the case of an anonymous work, the duration of the copyright is 70 years from the first publication, counted from January 1st . The same applies when a legal entity is deemed to be the legally fictitious or notional creator of the work.

Copyright arises with the creation of a work of original character that bears the stamp of the author. There are no formal requirements and registration is not compulsory.

The general rule in determining whether a work has its own original character is that it must be impossible for two authors to have created the same piece of work. If this is the case, the work generally considered to have its own original character.

The author of the work is its creator. Exceptions are those works created under a contract of employment; the copyright is then owned by the employer.

The copyright protection can be requested by performing artists who are actors, singers, musicians, dancers and other people who perform, sing or recite works of literature or art. They are the only persons entitled to give permission for the recording of performances, the making of copies and the broadcasting and marketing of the recordings.

Domain names were devised to make the internet user friendly. All computers and servers connected to the internet communicate with one another by means of IP addresses. Behind every internet domain name is an IP address so that when you visit a website, for example www.novagraaf.be, your PC makes a connection with the unique IP address of this site.

Although computers can easily get to grips with a sequence of numbers, people are not so good at this. Because an IP address is very long and difficult to remember, it was decided to link the addresses to real names. A domain name is thus an intelligible, traceable and unique internet address that is associated with a number sequence.

A domain name registered by Novagraaf will automatically be renewed until Novagraaf is otherwise instructed. In addition, we can refer domain names to websites of your choice without charge. We also take care of all administrative tasks. In a nutshell, we protect and manage your domain names, leaving you with time to concentrate on other businesses.

A design is the appearance of a product or part thereof. Designs are associated with the appearance of two or three-dimensional objects, such as furniture, packaging, logos, etc.

To be registered a design must be new and have its own, individual, character. However, the design must be registered with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property in order to gain protection from third parties by virtue of design right.

Unregistered designs do enjoy some protection in the European Union. Most specifically, unregistered designs enjoy protection against slavish imitation for 3 years since it's been disclosed to the public. The design does need to be new though and have its own individual character. Furthermore, a design can also be protected by copyright protection.

The registered design must be new, this is the condition of novelty: in other words, no other, prior, identical, designs should have been made available to the public.
Designs are considered identical if they only differ slightly. An application for design registration can be filed within a period of one year after it's been disclosed to the public (grace period).

For a design to have individual character, the general appearance of the design must differ from the general appearance of other designs already available to the public.

A trade name is the name under which a company or part of a company carries out its business; it could be a family name, fantasy name, descriptive name or any combination of these. The trade name is also defined as the name under which a company conducts its business transactions. A company can have more than one trade name.

A trade name usually serves to distinguish one company from another, thus functioning as a trade mark and can therefore be protected as such.

The right to the use of a trade name is granted to the first user. Younger trade mark rights may not affect older trade names without a valid reason, as long as the trade name is fairly used for business purposes. However, if there is an older trade mark right, the use of a younger trade name may be challenged if there are concerns that the public may be confused as to the origin of the goods.