Register a design

The Benelux Designs Register is the official place of publication for designs. It contains the details and images of designs registered in the Benelux that were valid on 1 January 2012 or registered after that date. You can also use the Register to view the details of registration renewals and modifications. The register does not contain any pending applications or unpublished registrations.

Designs filed before 1 January 2012 can be viewed in the Benelux Industrial Designs Gazette, formerly the official place of publication. Go to the Benelux Industrial Designs Gazette

Community (EU) and international designs are filed in the EUIPO and WIPO registers.

Copies

The Designs Register is the official place of publication for Benelux designs. You can print free copies by clicking on 'Print'. Most official bodies will accept this copy as proof of an application or registration. If you need an authenticated copy, you can order one, for a fee, from BOIP. Click on 'Order'.

It takes about four months to complete the design registration procedure. The registration remains valid for five years. Your client's design is protected for this period. After five years, you can have the registration renewed for subsequent five-year periods, up to a maximum of 25 years.

In the event that your design is ultimately not registered, the application fees paid will not be refunded.

For that reason, before you apply for a design on your client's behalf, you should check:

• whether the design is novel and has a distinctive character:
  • Search the Benelux Designs Register to check whether an identical or very similar design has already been published;
  • Search in trade literature, magazines or on the internet to check whether an identical or very similar design already exists;
• where your client wants to protect the design
• whether the formal requirements have been met.

The relevant statutory provisions are set out in the BCIP and the Implementing Regulations.

Register a design

You can file a design application at BOIP online. You will need a My BOIP account to do this. Creating an account is free and only takes a couple of minutes. Do you have an account already? If so, you can log in directly.

Go to design registration

It takes about four months to complete the design registration procedure.

Filing date

The administrative procedure for registering a design application is relatively simple. Upon receipt of the application, BOIP assigns the date and time of receipt. You are sent confirmation of this. The details provided by you are entered in our system.

BOIP first checks whether the application meets the minimum requirements:

• Is the design clearly depicted?
• Has the product been specified?
• Has the name of the applicant (person or company) been provided?
• Have the payable fees been received?

These requirements must be met as a minimum. Otherwise the application will be inadmissible.

The filing date is the date on which these requirements are met. The filing date is important when it comes to determining the order of priority between this design and the rights of others.

Other formalities

Once the filing date has been established, BOIP checks whether the other formal requirements have been met. We will contact you if any information is missing.

No substantive examination

BOIP does not carry out a substantive examination. That means that we do not verify that the design meets the requirements of novelty and has distinctive character or the other conditions for design validity. BOIP does, however, check whether the design is contrary to public order or morality. The latter is very rarely the case in practice.