Once you have registered your trademark with BOIP, it is important to maintain it. We explain how you do that below. This way you ensure your trademark remains optimally protected.
Genuine use of your trademark
After registration, you must use your trademark within the first five years for all the products and services it is registered for. It must also be used in a real and commercially credible way. This is known as ‘genuine use’. If this is not the case, someone else can request BOIP to cancel your trademark, or in other words request that all or part of the trademark is removed from the register. If such a request is made you can defend the ‘genuine use’ of your trademark.
Renewing your trademark on time
A registered trademark is valid for ten years. Thereafter, you can pay for and renew your registration every ten years. If you don’t, your trademark will expire. You can renew your trademark in the period from six months before to six months after the date of expiration. There is an additional fee if you renew during the six months after the date of expiration.
Monitoring your trademark against infringement
With a registered trademark you are in a strong position with the right to take action against third parties who want to make unauthorised use of your trademark. Whether someone is infringing on your trademark right though is something that you have to keep an eye on or ‘monitor’ yourself. We do not check whether a new trademark application conflicts with the (trademark) rights of others. If you would rather outsource monitoring, you can subscribe to the Trademark Alert of the BOIP Trademarks Register or seek the services of an IP professional. If someone is infringing on your trademark right, it is up to you to take action against it yourself.
Keep your details up-to-date
Make sure all your details in the trademarks register are up-to-date, just like your contact details. If you have a new e-mail address, make sure you change your e-mail address in your account before you no longer have any access to your former e-mail address. If you don't, we can no longer recover access to your account. If you transfer your trademark to someone else, make sure you inform us about the transfer. If you want to nominate a representative, remove products or services from your trademark registration or change something else, you must inform us about that too. It is not possible to make a change to the trademark itself, or to extend the list of products and services.
Keep your trademark’s scope of protection up-to-date
If your trademark registration is no longer accurate, because of rebranding or restyling for instance, then you might have to re-apply to register a new trademark. If you use the trademark in the meantime for more or for other products and services, you might then also have to re-apply to register a new trademark. This is because you cannot change the trademark itself and you cannot extend the products and services. If you use the trademark for fewer products and services than it has been registered for, you can have those products and services removed.
