At thegreenlist.nl we also like to help sustainable entrepreneurial Netherlands move forward with our ‘Work & Enterprise’ section. We previously shared legal tips for self-employed and sustainable entrepreneurs with a sole proprietorship. In this article, we take a closer look at registering your trademark, logo or idea, because a good sustainable idea is worth its weight in gold and of course you want to protect it properly. Together with Renate Verstraaten of You and Me Legal, we go through the important points with you.
Trade names versus registering your trademark
Before we delve deeper into registering your amazing green fire, it is good to know that you do not have to do this right away. As an entrepreneur, you may also be helped in the beginning by registering a trade name at the Chamber of Commerce, which is also free of charge and can be arranged online within minutes. Together with Renate from You and Me Legal, we will go through both options with you, so you can decide afterwards what suits your company and situation best.
Registering a trade name with the Chamber of Commerce
Are you developing various activities as an entrepreneur or self-employed person? Then you do not have to register with the Chamber of Commerce again for each initiative. You can add several trade names under your sole proprietorship. A trade name is the name under which you run your business and by which you are known to your customers. It is the name you use on your website, on your invoices and in your advertising. This name can be different from your official company name registered at the Chamber of Commerce. Renate: ‘You can also have several trade names for one company, which is handy if you offer different products or services under separate names. For example, you can use one name for your online shop and another for your consultancy firm, even if both are under the same company. Registering each trade name offers flexibility and helps you present your different activities clearly and professionally.’ What does this have to do with protecting your brand? ‘Adding a trade name is also smart if you want to prevent someone else in the same industry from using this name. If you have already registered this name, then the other person will not be allowed to use it, because it will be in violation of trade name law,’ says Renate.
Renate Verstraaten, lawyer.
In short, do you have a trade name? Add it right away. It costs you nothing and gives you (some kind of) protection. At least, if you start using the trade name immediately afterwards, because that is a condition. In addition to the CoC registration, you have to be able to prove that the trade name is in use by you, for instance with a mention on a website, as a name in an e-mail address or on stationery.
Registering your trademark
With a CoC registration or adding a trade name, you have not yet protected your brand (name), your logo, your idea or product. Renate: ‘Do you already have a logo? Then it is smart to also register the trade name as a trademark. For this, you need to do a separate registration with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP). Registering your trademark gives you the exclusive right to use it throughout the Benelux. This offers stronger protection than a trade name and prevents others from using or copying your brand.’ This registration is not free. Allow for a few hundred euros, depending on what exactly you want to register.
Want to learn more about the legal side of business? Then also check this article! Or contact Renate Verstraaten of You and Me Legal.
Need more tips and help?
Maybe you have been doing business for a while, or maybe your initiative is still in its infancy. Either way, with the guide for starting entrepreneurs, we would like to help you on your way with the administrative side, so you can do what you do best: make your idea a success! Because say it yourself, it's a nice idea when the administrative basics are all in order. With the help of this guide, you will have everything you need to organise your company's bookkeeping properly, learn good habits and, as a bonus, we will also share with you how you can do business a little more consciously. We got you!
For 13.50 euros, you have this lifesaver directly to your inbox and so on your tablet or mobile phone! Order the guide for start-ups in our webshop!
More legal tip from thegreenlist.nl
- You can read all about copyright and portrait rights here.
- Here's what you need to know About the shipping and return policy.
- We listed everything: legal tips from entrepreneurs.
Photo credits main image: Shkrabaanthony (Pexels).
