02/10/2019 – Darts-ip has signed an agreement with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property licensing Darts-ip’s new trademark image recognition technology for use within the trademark register available to the public on the BOIP website, as well as integrated in the internal tools to be used by examiners. Once the technical integration is complete, BOIP users will have access to a new tool, improving and accelerating trademark searches.

“Today, BOIP has taken a decisive step forward in providing a more reliable, state-of-the-art and user-friendly trademark system! Searching the trademark register using word elements or complex classifications alone is over. Thanks to the innovative technological solution developed by Darts-IP, BOIP has leveraged artificial intelligence to enable anyone to simply upload an image to search the entire register for similar trademarks, not just Benelux trademarks and international designations, but also EU trademarks. Knowing how important logos and figurative elements are in the business world today, this is a major breakthrough.” - Hugues Derème, Deputy Director General – BOIP

Darts-ip’s Image Search technology is developed entirely in-house and trained on its unique trademark cases database, with millions of potential marks analysed during training. This unique tool examines logos on the overall content and design, dissecting aspects such as shape, colour and use of letters to identify similar/identical trademarks. Unlike other existing tools, Darts-ip’s Image Search is developed in close cooperation with our legal content managers and trademark analysts. Therefore the underlying algorithm has been refined by practitioners, for practitioners. The results filter is further enhanced through constant training, with the AI processing millions of cases assessing trademark similarity. Searches are simply done by uploading an image, with the sorted results returned immediately.

Darts-ip’s unique Image Search technology will be integrated into the BOIP’s robust trademark database, allowing users to run searches for any trademark valid on the Benelux territory, being Benelux, international or EU registrations. 

“Darts-ip is proud to work with the BOIP, an office with an innovative, forward-thinking approach to IP. This type of licensing agreement of our image recognition technology is a first for Darts-ip and underlines the crucial role of AI-driven legal tech solutions in the world of IP. As a European company, now operating on a global scale, it is a pleasure to see our newest legal-tech applied and made even more available to IP professionals.” – Evrard Van Zuylen, Managing Director and AI Lead – Darts-ip

The integration is scheduled to be completed in November 2019. With users gaining access to the search functionality in the BOIP’s register immediately thereafter. As soon as the roll-out is complete a joint announcement will be issued.

About Darts-ip:

Darts-ip, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, provides global information and analytics that support IP prosecution and litigation activities. Through our platform, IP professionals gain unparalleled insights into IP rights, companies, jurisdictions, legal topics and market trends. Darts-ip users can quickly search and track nearly 5 million cases covering trademarks, patents, copyrights, designs & models, domain names, and unfair competition. A dedicated team of local legal experts, in partnership with cutting-edge AI and machine learning tools, extract key data points from every case. From prosecutors to litigators, R&D to business intelligence experts, Darts-ip’s smart tools help win cases, build strategies and identify new opportunities.
Read more information on the Image Search tool. For all queries related to the use or licensing of our technology contact us at legal-tech@darts-ip.com.

About Benelux Office for Intellectual Property:

The Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) is the official body for trademarks and designs registration in the Benelux. BOIP can also record the existence of an idea on a given date in an i-DEPOT. Since 1971 the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg (Benelux) have applied uniform rules with respect to protecting entrepreneurs’ trademarks and, since 1975, as the Benelux economic union, the countries have applied uniform legislation when protecting designs. Not only was this legislation the springboard for the current Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property, it was also the inspiration for today’s EU trademark legislation. Since 2006 both trademark and design law have been governed in an easily comprehensible and systematic fashion by a single treaty, the Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property. Entrepreneurs operating in the Benelux can acquire exclusive rights to their trademarks or designs under the treaty and use those rights to take action against unauthorised use.
For more information: www.boip.int and communication@boip.int