1. Your brand sets you apart from others and represents the goodwill of your company. A lot of time, energy, and money goes into branding and marketing. That's why it's so important to protect it.
2. Start-up entrepreneurs think that a trade name search at the Chamber of Commerce is sufficient to determine whether they can use this company name. This is not the case! You must always consult the trademark registers to check the availability of your company name.
3. Without trademark registration, your brand name and/or logo will not enjoy trademark protection and you will not be able to take action against infringers. A trademark registration proves its value in court.
4. A trademark registration gives you exclusive rights of use from the date of filing. If a competitor registers a similar name or logo at an earlier date, this could lead to problems. Many platforms, such as bol.com and amazon.com, require you to have a trademark registration if you want to sell your products through their platform.
5. A trademark registration is valid for ten years and can be renewed indefinitely. You can sell or license a trademark registration, for example. This is worth money.

You can register a trademark in 45 different classes, and your trademark will then be valid for 10 years.

Jochem van Betten

vanbetten@legalmatters.com

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