May 2018. Companies will soon no longer need to go to court to get a trademark that’s infringing theirs removed from the Benelux Trademark Register. Following an amendment to the Benelux Treaty on the first of June, you’ll be able to submit an application for a declaration of invalidity directly to the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP). Which will be simpler – and much cheaper.

Declaration of invalidity: no longer through a court but by administrative procedure through BOIP

Grounds

There are various grounds on which you can ask the BOIP to have a third party trademark declared invalid.

1. It hasn’t been used in the last 5 years

2. It’s too similar to an older trademark and has been registered for similar products and/or services

3. It isn’t sufficiently distinctive (and should therefore not have been registered)

4. It takes unfair advantage of an earlier well-known trademark

Chiever

Chiever has prepared itself very thoroughly for this new invalidity procedure, partly based on the experience we’ve gained in previous opposition procedures, and would be happy to advise you.

Costs

Because submission to the BOIP is relatively straightforward, the associated costs are much lower than for legal proceedings, which are often time-consuming and far more complex.

More information

For more information about the procedure involved and the associated costs, contact Bas Kist or Volkert Teding van Berkhout at info@chiever.com.