Starting August 3, trademark protection in Qatar can be claimed via the International Registration route.

Consumers are increasingly influenced by environmental claims when purchasing products. Environmental claims (or sustainability claims) include terms such as ‘green,’ ‘eco,’ ‘organic,’ ‘climate neutral,’ etc. These claims suggest that the

In 1974, Lego made waves in the toy industry with its introduction of construction dolls, setting a new standard for innovation. Recognizing the uniqueness of their design, Lego promptly registered

Authorities have the discretion to reject a trademark application if it contradicts public order and morality. Interestingly, the European trademark office tends to apply a stringent standard in such cases.

Last summer, Museum Hermitage Amsterdam announced its name change. The museum no longer wanted to be associated with Russia. The new name HART however, did not go down well with

When people think of brands, they often only think of word marks and logos. However, there are many types of trademarks, such as multimedia marks, position marks and, of course,

Trademark law operates on the first-come, first-served principle. Some individuals (and companies) attempt to register trademarks linked to tragic events in order to try and make a financial gain from

It is common knowledge that state symbols should not be used in trademarks. The reason being that consumers may deem the products/services approved by the government. In Switzerland, a law

A trademark must be used normally after five years. If not, third parties can initiate a cancellation action against the mark. The question is though: where should that use take

From a marketing point of view, it is tempting to use semi-descriptive trademarks. With such a trademark, it is immediately clear to consumers what the attributes of a product or

Companies sometimes use elements in their logo that refer to the country where the company is based. This can lead to problems when it comes to the use of symbols

With the implementation of revised trademark treaty, the requirement that a trademark must be able to be represented graphically was abandoned. This has opened the door to new sorts of

Diesel has a design for its jeans with a small pocket on top of the right front pocket, the so-called coin pocket. Diesel has applied a small diagonal stripe to

The main rule is that a word-mark is optimally protected when registered in all-caps. In whichever way the word is used, the use then falls under the requested protection. However,

From May 24th onwards, it is possible to claim trademark protection in Pakistan through the International Registration. International Registration is a relatively cheap and easy way to register a trademark

As a result of the pandemic last April, the curtain dropped for D-reizen, one of the largest tour operators in the Netherlands. On March 12, however, all trademark rights were

This April 1st, it was 25 years ago that the first EU trademark was filed in the European Union. What is quite common now, was a sensation at the time.

Ever since the 1960s, Dr. Martens has been selling their boots. A signature element of their brand is the contrasting thick yellow stitching at the edge of the sole. Given

The Chinese market now consists of 1.4 billion consumers. China is not only a production country, but is also an attractive market for more and more companies. When a product

For years people have been fighting against the name WASHINGTON REDSKINS. In 1993, the National Congress of American Indians stated that the club name is derogatory and racist to Native

Logos are very important in fashion. Consumers usually have the first glance at clothing hanging or lying in the store shelves and they recognize the brand immediately by the neck

Many companies use (semi) descriptive brand names. The advantage being that the brand name immediately clarifies what product/service is offered. The disadvantage is that such brand names are often not

When examining a new trademark application, the authorities also assess whether the trademark may be in breach of public policy and the accepted principles of morality. The Benelux authorities are

A trademark is under obligation of use five years from filing. Since proof of use can be difficult to collect (see BigMac –Abcors ABC-no. 35), companies re-file their most important

Following Canada (this summer) it is also possible to claim trademark protection for Brazil via the Madrid system of International Trademark Registration from 2 October. Through the International Registration it

The Benelux trade mark office can refuse a trademark if it feels that this is descriptive. This decision can be appealed at the Benelux Court of Appeal. In the past

In the Netherlands we have a very quick procedure in place to get an immediately enforceable banning order issued by court (the so called Art. 1019e). However, recently courts have

There are more possible trademarks than just a logo or a word. Other characteristics also have the ability to distinguish one vendor’s offering from another one’s. A shape, sound, motion

The Lion King is launched in 1994 by Disney. To prevent parasitic use, the company registers the film title and logo as a trademark. Also songs titles from the film

Earlier this year Hasbro was granted trademark protection for the smell of its Play-Doh clay by the US trademark office. The mark had been filed for: ‘a scent of a

Last month BOIP, the trademark office of the Benelux countries, announced that it will change the system of fees for filing trademarks from January 1st 2019.

Until that date, the

A registered trademark has to be used within five years. If not, the expiration of this trademark can be invoked. Until recently, this could only be done through an (expensive)

Colours can be trademarks. For many, the colour combination of blue and silver, is sufficient to recognize the Red Bull energy drink. In order to protect this colour combination, Red

This spring, a little more became clear about on the effects of Brexit on companies with an EU trademark / EU registered design. The European Commission has published a draft

An International trademark registration provides relatively cheap and easy protection abroad. Therefore, an increasing number of countries is joining the treaty, like Indonesia. The registration process is not only cheaper,

As early as in 1999, Diesel registered it´s D-logo for clothing in the European Union. When Sprinter Megacentros files its own D-logo in the European Union, Diesel opposes. Initially Diesel’s

Not every trademark is automatically accepted by the authorities. As everybody knows, a trademark should be sufficiently distinctive, in order to be admitted. But there are other criteria as well.

There are various types of trademarks. Besides words and logo’s companies also claim less common signs like, packaging, melodies, and even the outline of a shop. Since 2010 there is

A difficult question for many companies that are active beyond the border is where to register the trademark. Just on the home market or in other countries as well. For

Many companies register their company name and trademarks as wordmark only. Often, however, a logo is also use. If this logo is distinctive and plays an important role in communication

If England leaves the European Union, there won´t be consequences just for English companies. In general, every company owning a European Union Trademark or European Union design will lose protection

In 2000 Lego filed a drawing of her figurines as a shape mark to protect it from third parties that may want to copy it. BestLock (a competitor) started a

This year, Google has been proclaimed (in the Brandtz top 100) as the most valuable trademark in the world (an estimated 229 billion US dollars). In the top 100 there

The Big Green Egg is a ceramic barbecue. The egg shaped barbecue ensures that the air is circulated, which means dishes are cooked evenly. Aside from barbecuing the machine can

Through trademark law a sign may be protected. Many different signs are accepted, for example: logos, packaging, pictures of buildings, comic book characters etc. However, there is a minimum requirement

Under the name PRONAILS, for many years, Amazing Brands has sold artificial nails and related products. In 2012 trademark protection is sought in the Benelux, however, the trademark is refused

In the Benelux there are no separate rules for the registration of personal names as a trademark. The advantage of this is that a company may use a fictitious person

A trademark registration is a powerful tool to prevent another company from introducing a product with a similar name. This is, however, not always the case. In most of the

In order to prevent coat tail riding, names and logos of television shows are often registered as trademarks. Use is allowed if a license fee is paid. IDTV is the

Any inclusion of state symbols, such as flags, in a non-governmental logo can lead to problems. The use of symbols that refer to the European Union, such as the twelve

For companies that want to produce (or market) their products in China it is of great importance to timely register the brand. In China, the system of first-come first-served applies.

The Apple Store is a worldwide phenomenon. It has a unique and transparent character. Not only because of the glass front, but also because of the glass, floating stairs, the

Trademarks are usually refused because they are descriptive. In some rare cases a trademark is refused because it is deemed offensive to a part of the public. In Germany the

BMW has registered the letter M as a trademark. The German Trademark Office decided that the letter sufficiently distinctive for sports cars. Important in the consideration of the trademark authorities

The Benelux Trade Mark Office (BOIP) has decided to refuse the registration of the mark Allah. The mark was applied for clothes. Strange is not the refusal, but the reasoning

It is not always easy to put your mark on the market without problems. The Chinese car company Qoros Automotive can endorse this phrase since they brought their new car

Trademarks that do not have distinctive character should be refused. This applies to all types of marks, word marks, shape marks etc. The policy used to be that integration should

In 2010 RB Europe started a cancelation action against RAW at OHIM. The reasoning for this being that RAW in its opinion is not distinctive for

Yoshida’s kitchen knives are easily identified by their handles. The handle has a pattern of small black dots, which appear to be indented upon further inspection. In order to protect

Another European trademark has been refused due to bad morals. The logo ’Qué buenu ye! HIJOPUTA’ (Spanish for ’How good is that, SOB’) was applied for alcoholic drinks. Unfortunately the

Not every brand will be automatically registered. The most common refusal of the authorities, that a mark is descriptive / not distinctive. Very occasionally a brand is refused

In 2010 RB Europe started a cancelation action against RAW at OHIM. The reasoning for this being that RAW in its opinion is not distinctive for

Beyonce and Jay-Z have recently decided to register the name of their newborn baby, BLUE IVY CARTER, as a trademark. According to some media outlets the couple has

The shape of a product is usually one of the most recognizable aspects. Consumers usually recognize the product from a certain brand by its shape alone, and often do not

Swiss Trademark authorities continue to amaze us. Earlier this year the trademark I-phone was denied. This time the Swiss authorities decided to refuse the registration of the mark MADONNA for

Burger King, on the verge of opening her first franchise in Russia, discovered that the domain name BURGERKING.RU had already been registered in 2000 by Elvis Telecom. More often than

Someone else’s trademark does not pose a problem unless it is similar and being used for similar products. The fact that companies have the same name does not automatically have

Since 1998 Revillon has sold chocolate shaped in the form of a wine branch. In 2003 they managed to register the branch as a shape mark. In 2004 Trianon started

In Greece the figurative trademark NAPOLEON had been registered for tissues, kitchen- and toilet paper. The logo consists of Napoleon, with a toilet roll in his hand.

This past July marked the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong becoming the first man to set foot on the moon. Armstrong spoke the now famous words: “That’s one small step

For years already it has been very difficult to get a package registered as a trademark in the Benelux. A big problem for manufacturesrs, because often a lot of money

Often trademarks contain geographical indications solely for marketing purposes. Examples are the Dublin Boxspring by Auping and the Mount Everest Pen from Pelikan.

Rumors are increasing that Cristiano Ronaldo will transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid. Madrid allegedly promised the Portuguese soccer player to play under shirt number 9

Through an international registration companies are able to obtain protection in foreign countries, for a relatively low price. This form of registration has been around since 1893.
The Austrian company

KPN, a Dutch telecom company, has tried to register the sign 1333 as a trademark, without success. The Benelux authorities claimed that the consumer would not see the combination of

Pictures and names of celebrities and performers are often registered as a trademark. Apparently it is not necessary that the celebrity is still alive.

At major sports events such as the European Football Championships and the Olympic Games, the population of the Netherlands stands firmly behind the Dutch team. Naturally, official organizers will do

Mona introduces a new dessert every month. For example, during the European Championships the ‘Airy EC Dessert’ was introduced. The same goes for ‘Olympic Dessert’, in August

An objection can be made to a new similar mark based on an older mark. However, a trademark must be registered for the goods and services for which it is