NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Friederike Henke, Ingrid Cools, Philip ter Burg, IJsbrand Uljée, Suzan van de Kam and Epke Spijkerman, BUREN
Benelux trade marks offer protection in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and may be applied for at the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP). European trade marks that provide protection for all EU member states have to be applied for at the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Dutch trade marks are initially protected for ten years. Protection may be prolonged for an indefinite number of times upon the timely payment of the extension fees. The unlicensed use of registered trade marks is forbid - den, and taking “unfair advantage” of the reputation of trade marks also constitutes an infringement. To enjoy the exclusivity rights of trade marks, trade mark own - ers must put the trade marks to genuine use for the goods or services for which they have been registered within five years of filing. In the event of trade mark infringements, trade mark owners may claim injunc - tive relief, rendering of account, damages, product recall, and even destruction of the infringing goods. Benelux trade marks are enforceable through the civil courts. Both Dutch district courts and courts of appeal have broad experience in IP issues. The district court of The Hague (the EUTM court in the Netherlands) has a chamber of judges specialising in IP law, and has exclusive jurisdiction for litigation As with trade mark protection, the Netherlands has three different systems for the protection of industrial design: • the Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property (trade marks and designs); • Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12 December 2001 on Community Designs, in December 2024 amend - ed by Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 on Community designs (“the Amending Regulation”); and • The Hague System for the International Registra - tion of Industrial Designs. The terms “design” or “drawing” relate to the appear - ance of products or parts of products. To claim a related to EU trade marks. 7.3 Industrial Designs
design right, the design must be novel and have an individual character. Benelux designs offer protection in Belgium, the Neth - erlands, and Luxembourg, and may be applied for at the BOIP. European designs that provide protection for all EU member states have to be applied for at the EUIPO. The Hague System for the International Regis - tration of Industrial Designs allows for the international registration of industrial designs across 82 members (including the EU) covering 99 countries by filing one single international application with the WIPO. Design registrations are initially valid for five years from the date of filing and can be renewed in blocks of five years up to a maximum of 25 years. Unregistered designs are protected against copying for a period of three years from the date on which the design was first made available to the public within the territory of the European Union. After the expiry of these three years, protection cannot be extended. Further to the Amending Regulation, member states are no longer able to provide unregistered design pro - tection on a national level. Unregistered design pro - tection will now only be available across the EU in the form of a Unregistered European Union Design. At a national level, only registered design protection will be available. In the case of design right infringements, the own - ers can claim injunctive relief, rendering of account, damages, product recall and even destruction of the infringing goods. Benelux design protection is enforceable through civil courts. The district court of The Hague has a cham - ber of judges specialising in IP law, and has exclusive jurisdiction for litigation related to EU designs. Simultaneously with the Amending Regulation, Direc - tive (EU) 2024/2823 on the legal protection of designs came into force. EU member states have 36 months, until 9 December 2027, to transpose the Directive into their national legislation, ie, in the Benelux in the Ben - elux Convention on Intellectual Property (trade marks and designs). The Amending Regulation and Directive aim to:
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