Licensing and intellectual property
Trademark Registration in Belgium
Belgium has no national trademark. We file yours as a Benelux or EU mark and keep its dates.
- No national mark: Benelux or EU
- One class, basic fee: EUR 244 at BOIP, EUR 850 at EUIPO
- Opposition window: 2 months Benelux, 3 months EU
Trademark registration in Belgium, in brief
Belgium has no national trademark of its own. The Benelux Convention treats Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands as one territory (Art. 1.16) and gives the right by registration (Art. 2.2). The Dutch government portal says: "You cannot register your trademark solely in the Netherlands, or Belgium, or Luxembourg". So there are two routes, a Benelux mark at BOIP or an EU mark at EUIPO.
We prepare and file, the offices decide, and we are not a trademark attorney. A firm preparing a crypto-asset authorisation files its brand separately: the CASP license Belgium page covers the licence, and applying for an e-money or payment licence in Belgium has its own page.
- Territory
- Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg as one right (Art. 1.16 BCIP)
- Basic fee, one class
- EUR 244 (tariff archived 6 September 2026)
- Opposition window
- 2 months
- Territory
- All Member States as one unit
- Basic fee, one class
- EUR 850 (read on 30 September 2026)
- Opposition window
- 3 months
No national Belgian mark: a Belgian national administration is a filing channel only (Art. 2.5(1), (4))
What the service includes
Clearance work
We read the BOIP register, TMview and the KBO/BCE company search, then check open use and variants of the sign. A search shows what is registered, not what is free.
The sign against the absolute grounds
We read the sign against the absolute grounds of Arts. 2.2bis and 2.11 BCIP, so the sign or the list can be reshaped before an office fee is spent.
The list of goods and services
We build the list in Nice classes with BOIP's authorised terms. It is frozen at filing, and the five-year use clock runs against every class on it.
The application and the office fee
We prepare the application and pay the office fee. At EUIPO the fee falls due within one month of receipt, and examination starts only after payment.
Replies to the office
We answer office letters, such as a reasoned objection, within the period the office sets.
A docket of the dates
We diarise the opposition window, the five-year use date and the renewal window with its grace period, as we do when keeping a Belgian company's records in order.
Recordal and renewal
We record transfers, licences, pledges and seizures, which bind third parties only once recorded (Art. 2.33), and we renew inside the window.
We are not a trademark attorney, we do not choose your route or classes, and we promise no registration. BOIP itself gives no advice on a personal situation. An invention needs a patent, not a mark: see the patent registration guide.
Benelux or EU: what decides the route
The territory of the market
A Benelux mark covers three countries and cannot be split on transfer (Art. 2.31(2)). An EU mark covers the Union as one unit (Art. 1(2) EUTMR).
The cost side by side
Both fee schedules, each with office and date, sit in the table below, apart from any professional fee.
All or nothing
At EUIPO, "The EUTM is an all-or-nothing deal". A failed application can be converted into national ones, a Benelux one included, keeping its date (Art. 139 EUTMR).
Starting small, growing later
The seniority of a Benelux mark can be claimed in an EU mark, with the application or within two months of filing (Art. 39 EUTMR).
How trademark registration works
Statutory or official periodPortal estimate
- FilingThrough My BOIP or a Belgian national administration
- PublicationThe opposition window opens
- Opposition windowBenelux mark2 months (Art. 2.14(1))
- RegistrationBrussels regional business portalAbout 3 to 4 months, longer with opposition or refusal
- Genuine useDated evidence per classWithin 5 years (Art. 2.23bis)
- Ten-year termRuns from filing10 years
- RenewalIn the window before expiry6 months before expiry
- Grace periodAfter expiry6 months
Choose the territory
Benelux, EU or both. You decide, on our explanation of the criteria above. No official timing applies.
Clearance work
We search the registers and open use, with variants of the sign. You supply the sign and the activity. No official timing applies.
Read the sign
We read it against the absolute grounds and reshape the sign or the list if needed (Arts. 2.2bis, 2.11 BCIP). You decide.
Build the list
Goods and services go into Nice classes with authorised terms. The list is frozen at filing.
File and pay
Filing runs through My BOIP, or through a Belgian national administration that forwards it. At EUIPO the fee falls due within one month of receipt.
Publication and opposition
The window is two months at BOIP (Art. 2.14(1)) and three at EUIPO (Art. 46(1) EUTMR). An appeal to the Benelux Court of Justice runs two months from notification (Art. 1.15bis(1)).
Registration
The statute gives no total. The Brussels regional business portal says about 3 to 4 months, longer with opposition or refusal. An accelerated route costs a EUR 196 supplement.
After registration
Start genuine use and keep dated evidence per class: five years (Art. 2.23bis). Record any transfer, and renew in the six months before the ten-year expiry.
Want the sign read against the absolute grounds before you pay a fee?
Send us the sign and the activity. We read both against the registers.
What you provide
- The sign in final form, word or logo file; it cannot change later (Art. 2.9(2)).
- The owner's exact legal name, form, address and enterprise number, such as a Belgian holding company.
- The goods and services you will sell within five years.
- A priority document, if you rely on an earlier foreign filing.
- A correspondence address that will still work in ten years.
- Your decision on the accelerated option, a risk decision (Art. 2.8(2)).
- For a transfer, the signed instrument: an unwritten assignment is void (Art. 2.31).
No convention article we read requires an apostille, sworn translation or legalisation. Whether BOIP requires a power of attorney for a foreign applicant we could not settle.
Benelux and EU at a glance
Office fees only, never ours. BOIP amounts are from its tariff as archived on 6 September 2026; EUIPO amounts were read on 30 September 2026. BOIP fees are exempt from VAT.
| Item | Benelux mark (BOIP) | EU mark (EUIPO) | Source and year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Territory | Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg as one right (Art. 1.16 BCIP) | All Member States as one unit (Art. 1(2) EUTMR) | Benelux Convention, WIPO Lex; Regulation 2017/1001 |
| Basic fee, one class, online | EUR 244 for 10 years | EUR 850 | BOIP tariff archived 6 September 2026; EUIPO, 30 September 2026 |
| Second class | EUR 27 | EUR 50 | Same |
| Each class from the third | EUR 81 | EUR 150 | Same |
| Opposition window | Two months from publication (Art. 2.14(1)) | Three months from publication (Art. 46(1)) | Benelux Convention; Regulation 2017/1001 |
| Opposition fee | EUR 1,045 per opposition | EUR 320 | BOIP archived 6 September 2026; Regulation 2017/1001, Annex I |
| Term | 10 years from filing (Art. 2.9(1)) | 10 years, renewable ten years at a time | Benelux Convention; EUIPO, 30 September 2026 |
| Renewal, one class, online | EUR 263 | Not stated in the sources read | BOIP archived 6 September 2026 |
| Late renewal | EUR 135 supplement within six months after expiry | 25 percent of the belated renewal fee, at most EUR 1,500 | BOIP archived 6 September 2026; Regulation 2017/1001, Annex I |
Benelux and EU trademark compared. BOIP figures from its tariff archived 6 September 2026; EUIPO figures read on 30 September 2026. No total is printed.
Problems we solve
A clean search is not a clearance
BOIP examines absolute grounds only (Art. 2.11(1)); an earlier owner can come forward within two months of publication. The regional portal warns a mark absent from the register may still be unavailable.
The accelerated route moves risk, it removes none
Registration comes without delay, but the Office may still cancel (Art. 2.8(2)) and the five-year use clock starts later (Art. 2.23bis(2)). The supplement is EUR 196, per the BOIP tariff archived 6 September 2026.
Use is a duty with a date
Genuine use is due within five years, with dated evidence per class. Non-use is a defence in opposition and infringement and a ground of revocation (Arts. 2.16bis, 2.23ter, 2.27). We docket it.
A company name is not a trademark
The right comes from registration (Art. 2.2). Check a planned name against the KBO/BCE search and BOIP before the deed, then file. A shelf company brings its name, not a mark: see what changes hands when a Belgian shelf company is taken over.
Outside the EEA: who represents you
At EUIPO a non-EEA party may file but must be represented in later proceedings, by an EEA legal practitioner or a listed representative (Arts. 119(2), 120(1) EUTMR). We are neither. For BOIP we found no rule and state none.
Who watches the five-year use date?
We diarise the use date, the opposition window and the renewal.
Why work with us
Julien Marchal leads tax, VAT and licensing in Brussels, in French, English and Dutch. He is not a registered BOIP or EUIPO representative.
From our practice: we read the registers and the sign first, build the list of goods and services, file, then diarise the use, opposition and renewal dates.
Related services
- The company that will own the markForming the private limited company.
- Setting up in BelgiumThe steps from notary to KBO/BCE registration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I register a trademark in Belgium alone?
No. Belgium has no national trademark. The routes are the Benelux mark, which covers Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg as one territory (Art. 1.16 BCIP), and the EU mark. A Benelux mark cannot be split on transfer: a transfer not made for the whole territory is void (Art. 2.31(2)).
Does a clean BOIP search mean my name is free to use?
No. BOIP examines absolute grounds only (Art. 2.11(1)), and earlier owners come forward within two months of publication (Art. 2.14(1)). A register search cannot show every earlier right (Art. 2.23(2)). Checking a name in Europe means the BOIP register, TMview and the KBO/BCE search, and none of them settles availability on its own.
Does my Belgian company name protect my brand?
No. The right is acquired by registration (Art. 2.2), and a claimant must provide evidence of registration (Art. 2.19(1)). The KBO/BCE entry for a company name is not a trademark. Check the intended name against the KBO/BCE phonetic search and BOIP before the deed, and file the mark right after incorporation.
Benelux or EU trademark: what decides the route?
The territory of the market, the two fee schedules in the table above, the all-or-nothing effect of the EU route, and the bridges between the two rights: seniority of a Benelux mark in an EU mark, and conversion of a failed EU application. The law states the criteria and the choice is yours. We do not recommend a route.
Do I have to use my trademark, and by when?
Genuine use in the Benelux territory is due within five years after the registration procedure is completed, or use must not be suspended for five continuous years, unless there are proper reasons (Art. 2.23bis(1)). Non-use exposes the mark to revocation (Art. 2.27). Keep dated evidence of use for each class.
What is the accelerated route and what does it risk?
A supplement of EUR 196 (BOIP tariff archived 6 September 2026) registers the mark without delay. Refusal, opposition and cancellation still apply (Art. 2.8(2)), and the five-year use clock starts later (Art. 2.23bis(2)). The route moves risk forward in time and removes none of it.
I live outside the EU. Can I file myself, and do I need a representative?
At EUIPO a non-EEA applicant may file but must be represented in all later proceedings (Art. 119(2) EUTMR), through an EEA legal practitioner or a listed representative (Art. 120(1)). At BOIP the convention is silent and we have not confirmed the implementing rules, so we state none. We are not a representative at either office.
How long does Benelux registration take?
The statute fixes the two-month opposition window and no total. The Brussels regional business portal says definitive registration takes approximately 3 to 4 months, and longer with an opposition or refusal. That is the portal's statement, checked on 30 September 2026, not ours. We print no processing time of our own.
When do I renew, and what if I miss the date?
A Benelux mark lasts ten years from the filing date. Renewal fees are paid in the six months before expiry, then a further six months follow with a EUR 135 supplement (Art. 2.9(1), (4); BOIP tariff archived 6 September 2026). The sign cannot be modified at renewal. At EUIPO the late surcharge is 25 percent of the renewal fee, at most EUR 1,500.
Can I add goods and services after filing?
No. The list of goods and services is frozen at filing, according to the BOIP and EUIPO how-to pages (BOIP page as archived on 6 September 2026). The list should therefore cover what you will sell within five years, because the use requirement runs against every class on it.
Can I get an EU grant toward the fee?
Not through the EUIPO SME Fund trademark voucher as of 30 September 2026: EUIPO's own 2026 page shows the voucher exhausted. EUIPO's generic fund page and the Brussels regional portal still describe the fund, so check the 2026 page before relying on any reimbursement. Whether it reopens is unknown.
Do US trademarks apply in Europe?
No. A right held elsewhere does not become a Benelux or EU right. The right in Belgium is acquired by registration at BOIP or EUIPO (Art. 2.2 BCIP). The convention also provides for a priority claim based on an earlier filing (Art. 2.6); we state no period for it here, so ask us before you file.
How much does a trademark cost?
Office fees for one class: Benelux EUR 244 (second class EUR 27, each class from the third EUR 81; BOIP tariff archived 6 September 2026, exempt from VAT) and EU EUR 850 (EUR 50 and EUR 150; EUIPO, 30 September 2026). Our own fee is quoted on request and is not part of these figures.
How do I register an EU trademark, and what countries does it cover?
One application to EUIPO, with the basic fee paid within one month of receipt. After examination and publication a three-month opposition window follows (Art. 46(1) EUTMR). The mark covers all Member States as one unit, all or nothing (Art. 1(2)). BOIP can also cover Belgium on its own.
Register your trademark for Belgium
Tell us the sign, the activity and the markets, and we prepare a filing plan for the Benelux route, the EU route or both.