Benelux or European Union: which one to choose?

A Benelux filing covers Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. A European filing covers the 27 member states. If you already sell outside the Benelux, the second is often the right choice.

How long does registration take?

About four months in the Benelux and five to six months in the Union, without opposition. The filing itself goes out within 48 hours of your approval.

How long does protection last?

Ten years from the filing of the application, renewable for ten-year periods, without limit. The regime is the same on both sides: the fee is paid in the six months before expiry. After that, the request stays admissible and the fee payable for a further six months, against a late surcharge. The office notifies the owner at least six months before expiry.

Should you file in every class?

No. You file in the classes that match your actual activity or the one planned within five years. A filing that is too broad stays fragile for lack of use.

How are official fees invoiced?

They are separate from my fees and recharged to the euro, on the basis of the office tariff on the day of filing.

Filing yourself or through an online platform: what is the difference?

An online filing registers the sign you enter. It does not run the prior search, does not discuss the choice of classes, does not answer office objections and does not represent you in opposition. My involvement covers those four stages, under professional indemnity insurance and professional secrecy.

What happens in case of an opposition?

The European office does not raise earlier marks on its own motion. An earlier owner has three months after publication to act. I answer the opposition or negotiate a coexistence agreement.

What exactly is a design?

The appearance of a product or of part of a product: lines, contours, colours, shape, texture, material. A registered European Union design is registered for five years from the filing of the application, renewable for five-year periods up to twenty-five years from that same filing. It requires novelty, hence the twelve-month grace period after your own disclosure. Without a filing, an unregistered design is protected for three years from its first disclosure within the Union.

Trade marks and designs: protecting the name, the logo and the shape of your products

A registered trade mark is the only title that gives you an exclusive right over a name or a logo. I check availability, choose the classes that matter, file at the BOIP or at the EUIPO and watch what is filed afterwards.

Brussels Bar lawyer since 2021, Certified data protection officer (Maastricht), Published fees

Free first contact Go into detail: scoping, €120

Free written first contact, answer within 24 working hours. To go into detail: a 45-minute scoping call with your documents, €120 excl. VAT, deducted if you instruct me within 30 days.

Why it matters

In the Benelux, the first filer prevails. A name entered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, a domain name or ten years of use carry no weight against an earlier filing. That is why the search comes before the logo.

The offices do not set aside earlier marks on their own motion. Opposition belongs to the owner of the earlier mark and to the licensee they have authorised, within two months of publication of the application in the Benelux and within three months in the Union. Without a watch service, nobody warns you.

My view: file in the two or three classes that match what you sell, not in ten. A mark without genuine use for five years becomes open to challenge for the goods and services it no longer covers. And each added class costs an official fee.

Typical situations

A clothing designer who launched a shop without a prior search

They could receive an opposition from an earlier owner and have to change name, logo and domain name after a few months.
A young company that filed in the Benelux only

Before selling in Germany, it would need to check the European Union: a similar sign may have been registered there in the meantime.
A restaurant owner relying on the entry in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises

They would hold no title against a venue opened under the same name in another city.
A furniture brand whose competitor copied the shape of a chair

A design registered in the Benelux or in the Union would give it a title to rely on. Without a filing, copyright would remain, and it takes longer to prove.
A publisher letting a reseller use its mark with nothing in writing

They would need a written licence setting the territory, the term, quality control and the end of the contract.

What is included

Prior search

BOIP or EUIPO registers, identical and similar signs, written risk note within 5 working days.
Class strategy

Nice classification limited to your actual activity and to that of the next five years.
Filing and follow-up

Filing within 48 hours of your approval, replies to office objections, through to registration.
Watch service and opposition

Alert report for 12 months, opposition before the BOIP or the EUIPO, coexistence agreements.
Designs

Benelux or Union filing of the shape of a product, a pattern or an interface, within the twelve-month grace period.
Licences and assignments

Licence and assignment agreements, recordal in the office register.
Morocco and North Africa

Filing with the OMPIC and coordination from Brussels.

How it works

01
Scoping

A 45-minute video call to set out the problem and the options.
02
Written quote

Scope, fixed price and indicative deadline, before any work starts.
03
Delivery

I draft, negotiate or file, and I keep you informed.
04
Handover

Annotated deliverables, points to watch and the next deadlines.

Three ranges, a price fixed before the work starts

The firm uses artificial intelligence tools for research and first drafts, under a lawyer's control. The time they save is not billed: it is already reflected in these ranges.

Check the nameBefore choosing a name, launching a product or printing a logo.Clearance search and written risk note, Benelux or European Union.€390 to €590
File and protectThe name is chosen and must become enforceable.Search, class strategy, Benelux or EU filing, follow-up to registration, twelve months of watching as an option.€890 to €1,590 + fees
DefendSomeone uses or files a sign close to yours.Documented cease-and-desist letter, opposition before the BOIP or the EUIPO, defence against an opposition.€690 to €2,600 + fees

The exact price depends on your matter. You receive it in writing after the first contact, which is free, and it does not change afterwards without your agreement. Amounts exclude VAT; official fees and disbursements are extra.

All ranges and how billing works

Frequently asked questions

Forty-five minutes to scope the matter, €120 excl. VAT

A 45-minute video call, prepaid.
A written report in five points within 24 working hours: the problem as you put it, the options, my recommendation, the budget for what follows, the timing.
If you instruct me within 30 days, the €120 is deducted from the fee.

Free first contact Go into detail: scoping, €120

Free written first contact, answer within 24 working hours. To go into detail: a 45-minute scoping call with your documents, €120 excl. VAT, deducted if you instruct me within 30 days.

Trade marks and designs: protecting the name, the logo and the shape of your products

Why it matters

Typical situations

A clothing designer who launched a shop without a prior search

A young company that filed in the Benelux only

A restaurant owner relying on the entry in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises

A furniture brand whose competitor copied the shape of a chair

A publisher letting a reseller use its mark with nothing in writing

What is included

Prior search

Class strategy

Filing and follow-up

Watch service and opposition

Designs

Licences and assignments

Morocco and North Africa→

How it works

Scoping

Written quote

Delivery

Handover