The BOIP

"The Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) is the official office for the registration of trademarks, designs and drawings within the Benelux. The BOIP register currently contains nearly one million trademarks and over 16,000 drawings and designs."

Intellectual Property

Intellectual property is the collective term for a number of specific legal areas. It relates to having a right to a non-material thing. These rights give the owner an exclusive right to manufacture or sell a product, to use the product's name or to duplicate a work. The most well-known intellectual property rights are trademark rights, patent rights and copyright.

Trademarks

A trademark is a symbol that sets your products or services apart from those of your competitors. This symbol could be the name of your product or service but may also be a logo or shape of - or packaging for - a product, such as the Coca-Cola bottle.

Detailed information on trademarks can be found on this website.

Designs

A design is the outward appearance of a product or of part thereof. A design has to be new and have an individual character.

Detailed information on designs can be found on this website.

Ideas

Everyone is entitled to have an idea. In principle, therefore, it is impossible to protect ideas. However, it often makes sense to record a creation date, for example to prove that you are the author of a copyright-protected work or that you are the person who devised a format for a TV gameshow (NB. Such format protection is only possible under certain circumstances). br/> Another example is where you are creating a design or invention, and during the initial phase prior to design protection or copyright protection you are concerned that someone might steal your idea.

You can record a creation date at the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property, using the so-called 'i-DEPOT' process.

Detailed information on ideas can be found on this website.

Trade names

The trade name is the name that a company trades under in the marketplace. The right to a trade name is established by being the first party to use it. It is a good idea to register your trade name with the local Dutch Chamber of Commerce (in the Netherlands) or with the company section (the 'ondernemingsloket') of the Kruispuntbank (in Belgium). The right to a trade name is restricted to the territory in which it is known.

In the Netherlands, you can register your trade name with the local Dutch Chamber of Commerce. In Belgium, you can register your trade name as such with the company section at the Kruispuntbank.

Patents

A patent (in Dutch: ‘octrooi’) is an exclusive right to an invention that means that you can prevent someone from commercially exploiting your invention. A patent is a useful weapon that will help you stop other parties hitching a free ride on the success of your invention. Patents also give you a stronger hand in your dealings with financiers and future partners. However, a patent does require a substantial financial investment.

All patents contain information on the applicant and inventor, along with a description of the invention. All patents all over the world are used to describe innovative products and processes. This allows users to find answers to such questions as:
- Does my invention already exist?
- What products and techniques are there already?
- Who are my potential customers and suppliers?
- What are my competitors up to?
- Who are my potential (commercial) partners and collaborators?
- How do I decide on a strategic innovation policy?

The Netherlands Patent Office (also known as ‘Octrooicentrum Nederland’) is responsible for the granting of patents in the Netherlands and for the dissemination of knowledge contained in patents literature. The Netherlands Patent Centre will be happy to answer all your patent-related questions and can also refer you to other organisations that can assist you with your innovation processes. In Belgium, it is the Federal Public Service Economy, SMEs, Self-Employed and Energy agency that handles the patent-granting process.

Copyright

Copyright gives the creator of an original 'work of literature, science or art' the exclusive right to publish and/or duplicate it. For example, if you have written a book or created a work of art, you will want to prevent others from publishing or duplicating your work without your permission. Copyright is established automatically as soon as a work is created, provided that said work is original.
Ancillary rights protect performances by performing artists, producers of phonograms, first recordings of films and broadcasting organisations.
If you would like more information on copyright in the Netherlands, please go to www.auteursrecht.nl. If you would like more information on copyright in Belgium, please go to economie.fgov.be.

Plantbreeders' rights

Plantbreeders' rights give the plantbreeder exclusive rights to cultivate and trade in a new and protected plant variety. A plantbreeder can apply for plantbreeders' rights for cultivated materials for each new variety that is a member of the plant world. The Board for Plant Varieties handles the granting of plantbreeders' rights and related matters.
If you would like more information, please go to www.plantenrassen.nl (for the Netherlands) or, for Belgium, to the Intellectual Property section of economie.fgov.be.