International trademark

The Netherlands, together with over 90 countries in- and outside Europe (such as the US, China, India and Japan) are a member of the Agreement / Protocol of Madrid. On the grounds of this agreement a trademark can be registered at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), in Geneva, Switzerland.

Before registration at the WIPO it is necessary that the trademark is registered locally (in a participating country) for protection, e.g. at the BBIP. The application goes through that local authority (look at the BBIP website for more information as well).

When the application at the WIPO has been lodged within six months of the registration at the BBIP, the date of application at the BBIP can be used for the application at the WIPO.

The most important advantage of international registration (compared to EU-registration) concerns possible claims against your trademark. When another enterprise lodges a complaint against yours, such a complaint only will be dealt with in one country. This means that when successful, only for that country you cannot longer use the tradename, where such an obstacle is detrimental for the whole EU-protection.

The most important focus point with international registration is that it all depends on your local registration, at least for the first five years. When your registration at e.g. the BBIP expires, this can also affect your international registration. It could happen that you can transfer the international registration in (various) local registrations, but this can cause serious administrative hassle.