Benelux was first used in the agreement signed in 1944 which created a union of three countries Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg the first alphabet of each is used in this word. It is now the geographic, economic and cultural grouping of the three countries.
In addition to the Benelux Parliament and the Benelux Court of Justice the third most important organisation of the Benelux is the Benelux Organization for Intellectual Property referred as BOIP.
BOIP administers the Intellectual Property Registrations and maintenance in the following three countries:
- Belgium
- Netherlands
- Luxembourg
Trademark:
The Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) is the official body for trademark registration in the Benelux. The trademark protection is granted for a period of 10 years. Usually the registration time is 3 months and it is also possible to accelerate the registration as a special case. After 10 years renewal can be filed but during this period it is must to actively use the trademark in business.
Design:
The procedure for definitive design registration takes about 4 months. The registration is valid for a period of 5 years. After this period the applicant can renew registration at the end of the 5-year period for successive periods of 5 years to a maximum of 25 years.
