Do the brand check!

The Name checker shows information from the BOIP Trademarks Register and the Chamber of Commerce Business Register. Please bear in mind that:

• The Name checker is a tool and is not a research or advice.
• These registers are evolving every day. The search results from the Name checker are therefore always a snapshot at that moment in time.
• The Name checker only shows trade names and trademarks in which the exact search word appears, or which are themselves an exact match with the search word. It is therefore a good idea to search for the search word written in other ways or for variations of it.
• The search result of the Name Checker on kvk.nl may sometimes differ from the search result of the brand check on boip.int and kvk.nl/search.

You can use the Name checker to check whether the name you have chosen is already in use. If you do not check this and it later appears that your trade name or brand name is (almost) the same as that of another entrepreneur, this could lead to confusion and that is prohibited. The Name checker allows you to search using a single search request in the Chamber of Commerce Business Register and in the BOIP Trademarks Register. These registers contain all the trade names and trademarks that have been registered.

A brand name, or trademark, is the name that distinguishes your business, products or services from those of other companies. If you register your trademark in the BOIP Trademarks Register, you can prohibit others from using that name for the products and services that you have registered it for. Registering your trademark is a key step in protecting it. Read more about protecting your name

The BOIP Trademarks Register is the official and public register where trademarks are published in the Benelux. It contains all the trademarks that have been registered in the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg). These trademarks are the intellectual property of other parties, and therefore you cannot simply just go ahead and use them in the commercial market.

In addition, this register also includes trademarks that are still going through the application process, trademarks that have been registered in the EU (European Union trademarks) and international trademarks that are valid in the Benelux. The same is true for these: you cannot simply just use them.

Go to the BOIP Trademarks Register

The Chamber of Commerce Business Register contains all the businesses, legal persons and other organisations that have been registered as participating in the commercial market. If you intend to do business with someone, you can see from the Business Register who that person is, who the authorised signatory of the business is and whether there is any question of bankruptcy. Read more about the Chamber of Commerce Business Register.

If your chosen name already exists in the Trademarks Register, there is a potential risk that you could be working against someone else. That does not have to be the case per se though.

Look up the trademark concerned in the BOIP Trademarks Register to check the products and services that the trademark has been registered for. Do they match the products and services you use or want to use your trademark for? If so, it would be wise for you to choose a different name.

If the products and services do not match those of the similar trademark you have found in the register, it would be wise for you to search further via Google and in your sector to find out whether the name is already being used. If the name appears to still be available, there is a good chance that you can go ahead and use it.

If you need help in searching for whether your name is available, ask for advice from a trademark law specialist. This could be someone, for instance, who is registered with the professional association of legal specialists, the Benelux Association for Trademark and Design Law.

The use of a similar trade name is prohibited by law if it could lead to confusion. Whether that is the case depends on the circumstances. If your chosen name already exists in the Business Register, there is a potential risk that you could be working against someone else. That does not always have to be the case though. It depends among other things on the activity of the business and the place where the business is active.

If the activities of the other business are or appear similar to those of your business, and there is a potential overlap between your fields of work, then there is a probable risk of confusion with the public and, for that reason, using such a trade name is prohibited. There is an exception to this though: the situation whereby the other business has had the trade name registered but does not use it or has not used it in practice. The law only protects trade names that are used in practice. One way of checking this is to search using Google to see if you can find the name. If the name is already being used, it would be better to use a different name yourself. Think of a new name or look at other possibilities. You can also read more tips on how to choose a name for your business.

If the activities of the other business are not similar to those of yours, or there is absolutely no risk that your fields of work will overlap, then that is an indication there is no risk of confusion with the public and using such a trade name is allowed. Check first though to see whether you can find the name using Google. If someone else has been using your trade name for a while, they have the first claim to the name. That is also the case if the other person has not registered the name in the Business Register. If you also cannot find the name using Google, there is a good chance that you can go ahead and use it.

If the Trademarks Register contains a trademark that is similar to the name you would like to use for your business, there is a potential risk that you could be working against someone else. That does not have to be the case per se though.

Whether there is a risk of confusion depends in particular on whether the products and/or services you use your name for match those of the other party.

If your name is very similar to the registered trademark, which could lead to confusion with the public, the owner of the trademark can in principle lodge an objection against your name. In such a case, you may, for instance, receive a letter from a lawyer engaged by the other party stating that you have to stop using your name – with all the accompanying unfortunate consequences that may bring.

In this case you would better not to use the name you have chosen.

If the name is in the Trademarks Register but not in the Business Register, the name is then protected for certain products and/or services and you may not use it any more for those specific products and/or services. If the trademark concerned is a very well-known one, it often does not even matter whether it has been registered for the same products and/or services. It is in any case better to avoid using very well-known brand names.

If the name is in the Business Register but not in the Trademarks Register, and the trade name is being used in the same region in which you are active, and for the same activities and services, you should choose a different name.

You should also take into account that there are no purely descriptive names in the Trademarks Register. This is because to be registered a brand name, or trademark, cannot be descriptive for those products and services for which the trademark application is filed: ‘baker’ for a baker’s shop, for example. This sort of stand-alone brand name is refused by BOIP, and therefore no such names appear in the Trademarks Register.

The Name checker shows information from the BOIP Trademarks Register and the Chamber of Commerce Business Register. Please bear in mind that:

• The Name checker is a tool and is not a research or advice.
• These registers are evolving every day. The search results from the Name checker are therefore always a snapshot at that moment in time.
• The Name checker only shows trade names and trademarks in which the exact search word appears, or which are themselves an exact match with the search word. It is therefore a good idea to search for the search word written in other ways or for variations of it.
• The search result of the Name Checker on kvk.nl may sometimes differ from the search result of the brand check on boip.int and kvk.nl/search.