Trademark Registration in Luxembourg

Updated on Monday 18th May 2020

Rate this article

based on 1 reviews.

Companies and natural persons can register trademarks in Luxembourg by respecting the local legislation. Luxembourg is also a member of numerous international agreements providing for the protection of trademarks, therefore an appropriate registration with international bodies can ensure an even more effective protection of locally registered intellectual property (IP) rights.

Below, our lawyers in Luxembourg explain the main trademark registration steps. More than that, we can handle the registration procedure of various IP rights with the Luxembourg authorities.

Trademark legislation and definitions in Luxembourg

The Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property and the Implementing Regulation under the Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property are the main laws providing for the registration of trademarks and industrial designs in Luxembourg. However, it must be noted that the two acts provide for the protection these types of IP rights on the entire Benelux territory which is made of Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. This also results in a great benefit of automatic protection of registered trademarks in all three states when the procedure was completed in one of them.

With respect to the international conventions Luxembourg is part of when it comes to trademark registration, we will mention:

The Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks;
The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property;
The Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks;
The EU Regulation 2017/10001 on the EU trademark and other Directives providing for IP rights.

Luxembourg is also a member of other international agreement on trademark and other intellectual property rights.

According to these laws, a trademark can take the form of any letter, number, sign, or combination of these which results in names and drawings. Also, sounds, stamps and shapes can also be registered as trademarks in Luxembourg, as long as they are intended to designate goods and services that require distinction from other products and services.

Our Luxembourg lawyers can offer more information on the legal requirements applicable in the trademark registration procedure.

Who can register trademarks in Luxembourg?

There are no restrictions to the registration of a trademark in Luxembourg, as the procedure can be completed by natural persons and companies, local or of foreign origin.

Trademark registration in Luxembourg implies preparing the following documents:

an application form which can be filed in Dutch, French, or English;
the details of the applicant (name, business name, address and legal form in the case of companies);
the representation of the trademark and the goods or services it will be used for representation;
information about the type of trademark (verbal, figurative) and an image of it;
information on the color or colors of the trademark and the appropriate codes of the color;
the personal details of the person filing the application and his/her electronic signature.

Where the trademark registration procedure is completed by a proxy, his/her personal information alongside a power of attorney must be provided.

One of our lawyers in Luxembourg can represent local and foreign applicants during the trademark registration procedure. As a matter of fact, this a common practice in the Benelux area, which is why when the application is filed by a law firm or lawyer, the power of attorney is no longer required.

Trademark registration procedure in Luxembourg

The registration procedure of a Luxembourg trademark is completed with the Benelux Trademarks Register and implies the following steps:

filing of the application;
examination of the application file and publishing of the trademark;
the waiting period for any trademark opposition to be submitted;
the issuance of the Certificate of Registration.

Our law firm in Luxembourg can assist with the preparation and submission of the trademark registration file. We can also assist in filing trademark oppositions.

IP registration statistics in Luxembourg

According to statistics issued by the World Intellectual Property Office:

there were 121,282 trademark applications filed in Luxembourg;
in the same year, the number of classed specific in trademark application forms was 5,173;
there were also 3,199 patent applications filed in the Grand Duchy in 2018;
the number of industrial designs applications has reached 14,894.

Trademark opposition in Luxembourg

The Trademarks Register contains all the trademarks that are registered and valid in the Benelux area. It is advisable to consult this register before registering your trademark, in order to make sure that you do not copy an existing trademark.

Also, it is advisable to monitor your trademark in Luxembourg and also monitor recent trademarks to make sure that there are no new trademarks that copy your own. Our lawyers in Luxembourg can help you monitor newer trademarks to avoid potential conflicts.

A trademark opposition procedure can be initiated whenever there are new trademarks that conflict existing ones. Natural or legal persons may file an opposition against a more recent trademark when the two trademarks are identical and they are used for the same goods, when similar trademarks for similar goods may confuse the public or when a newer trademark can confuse the public regarding a well-known trademark.

Trademark oppositions must contain:

- the identity of the opponent,

- the trademark that is being opposed,

- the original trademark.

A certain application term must be observed and the applicants must pay the opposition fee in two distinctive payments, as indicated by the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property.

If you need assistance in trademark registration, please contact our Luxembourg law firm.