Explanation and scope of trademark searches

A trademark becomes subject to a use requirement 5 years (in some countries, 3 years) after registration. This means that a trademark that has not been put to genuine use for 5 years following registration cannot be relied upon. Use therefore also affects the assessed level of risk. A brief check of use forms part of our searches, but must not be regarded as a comprehensive investigation into use.

Included in Light
An identical trademark search examines the trademark registers of the relevant countries for identical trademarks. We also assess the distinctive character and registrability of the trademark. The search concludes with a conclusion and advice on the next step.

This search is a scan for identical trademarks and cannot be regarded as a comprehensive search.

Included in Solid
We carry out preliminary trademark searches ourselves in the freely accessible trademark registers of the relevant region. The results are filtered according to the degree of similarity between the trademarks and the similarity of the goods and/or services. This identifies highly similar trademarks. The search concludes with a conclusion on availability and advice on the feasibility of trademark registration.

This search should be regarded as indicative and is expressly not foolproof.

Included in Gold
The results of this search are supplied by a professional search agency that uses its own databases, analysis software and analysts. Rise is not responsible for the output.

Rise then analyses the search results at its own discretion and reports to the client the trademarks identified as potentially problematic. A brief check of the actual use of the cited trademarks forms part of the search.

If the client has carried out a search themselves and asks Rise to review it, responsibility for the results supplied rests entirely with the client. Rise assesses the risks associated with the supplied results and is not required to carry out its own search unless the client requests further investigation.

We draw your attention to the following important limitations of trademark searches.

Other rights and registrations
The search is carried out in the trademark register. However, there may also be obstacles that are not found in the trademark register. These include:

• Rights in trade names, domain names and/or designs. On request, RISE can carry out an additional trade name, domain name or design search.
• Unregistered trademarks: in cases of bad faith, an unregistered trademark may also constitute an obstacle.
• Well-known trademarks that are not registered in the Benelux.
• Well-known trademarks registered for dissimilar goods or services.
• Copyright: figurative trademarks, slogans and similar works may also be protected by copyright. As no registration is available for copyright protection, no search can be carried out in this respect.

Time limitations

• There is always a delay in processing the details of new trademark applications. It takes some time for the details to be entered in the public registers. It is therefore theoretically possible that a conflicting trademark has already been filed but does not (yet) appear in the search results.
• The proprietor of a trademark recently filed in the trademark register of another country has the option, for a period of 6 months after filing, to extend protection to another country while retaining the original filing date (known as priority). A trademark search obviously cannot take account of such priority applications.

Assessment
Rise’s advisers assess the searches on the basis of their knowledge of case law and their experience in intellectual property law. The assessment of trademark search results inevitably involves subjective aspects.