Legal Requirements

Application requirements

A trademark application must meet legal requirements. Upon receipt of your application, we check whether it meets these requirements:

  1. the name and address of the applicant; if the applicant is a company, its legal form must be stated;
  2. if filed by a representative: name and address of the representative;
  3. the trademark;
  4. the goods and services that the trademark is intended to cover, described and assigned to classes;
  5. indication of the type of trademark (e.g. word mark, device mark, combined word-device mark or shape mark);
  6. in case of a color mark (a mark that only consists of one color or of a combination of colors): a description of the colors and the corresponding color codes;
  7. if you are claiming priority based on an earlier application made abroad: state the details of that application and append proof thereof;
  8. if you want to include distinguishing features: a clear description of the features in your application (this concerns elements that are not immediately apparent in an image, such as transparent parts);
  9. the signature of the applicant or his representative.

Filing date

The filing date is established in particular based on:

  • Items 1, 3, 4 and 5 on the above list
  • Payment of the trademark application fees
  • In the case of a collective trademark: regulations governing use and control of the trademark must be appended.