Intellectual property disputes in the Netherlands: steps and costs

An intellectual property dispute in the Netherlands is won or lost on two preliminary questions: what right do you actually hold, and can you prove when it arose?

Trade marks and designs are registered rights, and the register answers both questions at once. Copyright is not registered: it arises automatically when a work is created that has its own original character and bears the personal stamp of its maker. The holder must therefore be able to prove authorship and date from their own records. Patents are registered; a European patent is examined, while a Dutch national patent is granted without substantive examination. Trade secrets are protected under the Trade Secrets Protection Act (Wet bescherming bedrijfsgeheimen) only as long as the information is actually kept secret and reasonable steps have been taken to keep it so. Without those steps, there is no right to enforce.

Once the right is established, Dutch procedure offers unusually effective remedies. Summary proceedings (kort geding) can produce an injunction within weeks, backed by a penalty payment. Evidentiary seizure allows infringing goods and evidence of infringement to be secured before the other side can remove them. And a successful party in an intellectual property case can recover its full and reasonable legal costs under Article 1019h of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (Rv), instead of the modest fixed amounts that apply in ordinary civil cases. That cuts both ways: an ill-considered claim becomes expensive.

In short: which IP rights exist and how are they protected?

The table gives the main rights, how they arise and how long they last under Dutch and EU law.

How is each IP right established in the Netherlands?

Registered rights start with the filing date in the register; unregistered rights depend on evidence you keep yourself. In a dispute, the first task is always to establish exactly which right you hold and from when.

Trade marks

A trade mark protects a sign that distinguishes your goods or services, such as a name or logo. In the Netherlands, protection comes from registration: a Benelux trade mark through BOIP, or an EU trade mark through EUIPO, which covers all member states. The rules for Benelux marks are in the Benelux Convention on Intellectual Property (BCIP). Using a name without registering it gives little protection as a trade mark, although a trade name (handelsnaam) is protected by use under the Trade Name Act (Handelsnaamwet).

Designs

A design protects the appearance of a product, such as its shape, lines or colours. You can register a Benelux design or an EU design; since 1 May 2025, the former Community design is called the EU design under Regulation (EU) 2024/2822. An unregistered EU design gives three years of protection against copying from the moment the design is first made available in the EU.

Copyright

Copyright arises automatically under the Dutch Copyright Act (Auteurswet) when a work has its own original character and bears the personal stamp of its maker. It covers texts, images, music, software, websites and designs, among other things. Because there is no register, the proof of authorship and date lies with you: keep drafts, source files and metadata. Works made by an employee in the course of their duties belong to the employer (Article 7 of the Copyright Act); works made by a freelancer stay with the freelancer unless the rights are transferred by a written deed.

Patents

A patent protects a technical invention that is new, inventive and industrially applicable. A Dutch patent under the Patents Act 1995 (Rijksoctrooiwet 1995) is granted without substantive examination, after a mandatory search into the state of the art. Its validity can therefore be challenged more easily. A European patent is examined by the European Patent Office. Since 1 June 2023, a European patent with unitary effect can also be obtained, and disputes can be brought before the Unified Patent Court, which has a local division in The Hague.

Trade secrets

Under the Trade Secrets Protection Act, information is protected if it is secret, has commercial value because it is secret, and has been subject to reasonable measures to keep it secret. Those measures include confidentiality clauses, access restrictions and clear labelling. Without them, you cannot act against a former employee or business partner who uses the information.

What triggers most IP disputes?

Most disputes start with a similar brand name, copied content or a product that looks too much like the original. Others arise between former partners: an employee who leaves, a freelancer who claims their work, or a licensee who goes beyond the licence.

Types of conflict

Trade mark disputes usually turn on whether a sign is identical or similar to an earlier mark, for identical or similar goods or services, and whether there is a likelihood of confusion among the public. A mark with a reputation receives wider protection, also against use that takes unfair advantage of that reputation.

Copyright disputes concern the reproduction, publication or adaptation of a work without permission, for example photographs used on a website, software code reused by a former developer, or texts copied by a competitor.

Patent disputes are technical: the question is whether a product or process falls within the scope of the patent claims, and often also whether the patent is valid at all. Such cases usually require expert evidence.

Common triggers today

• Online reproduction: images, texts and videos that are copied and shared without permission.
• Licensing and technology transfer: disagreement about what a licence covers, royalties or ownership of improvements.
• Departing employees and freelancers: disputes about who owns the code, designs or client files.
• Cross-border sales: goods that infringe a right in one country but not in another, or counterfeit goods arriving through a Dutch port.

What are the steps from first letter to judgment?

Usually: secure evidence, send a cease-and-desist letter, and if necessary start summary or main proceedings. Speed matters, because waiting too long can weaken an urgent claim in summary proceedings.

Step 1: assess and document your position

Establish which right you hold, who owns it and from when, and collect evidence of the infringement. Useful documents include:

• registration certificates for trade marks, designs and patents;
• dated evidence of creation, such as drafts, source files and emails;
• specific examples of the infringement, with dates, URLs and purchase receipts;
• contracts with employees, freelancers and licensees.

Step 2: secure evidence

If there is a risk that evidence will disappear, you can ask the court for leave to seize evidence (bewijsbeslag) under Articles 1019b to 1019d Rv. A bailiff then makes a description of the infringing goods or documents, or takes samples, often without warning the other side. In addition, under Article 194 Rv (until 1 January 2025 Article 843a Rv) you can claim access to specific information held by the other party.

Step 3: send a cease-and-desist letter

A cease-and-desist letter demands that the other party stop the infringement, usually within a short period, and often asks for a signed undertaking with a penalty for each breach. A clear and well-founded letter resolves many disputes. A letter that overstates your rights can backfire, for example if the other party responds with a claim for invalidity.

Step 4: summary proceedings

In urgent cases, the court can order the infringer to stop in summary proceedings, often within a few weeks, with a penalty payment for each breach. If such a measure is granted before main proceedings, the court sets a period within which the main proceedings must be started (Article 1019i Rv); otherwise the measure lapses at the request of the other party.

Step 5: main proceedings

In main proceedings, the court rules definitively on infringement and validity. Some cases go to specialised courts: patent cases and cases about EU trade marks and designs are handled in the Netherlands by the District Court of The Hague. Main proceedings take longer, usually more than a year at first instance, but give a final judgment.

What remedies can the court award?

• an injunction against further infringement, with a penalty payment;
• damages, or surrender of the profit made by the infringer;
• recall and destruction of infringing goods;
• disclosure of information on the origin and distribution of the goods;
• reimbursement of the full and reasonable legal costs of the successful party (Article 1019h Rv), within the indicative rates courts apply for IP cases.

For counterfeit goods crossing the border, customs can detain goods on the basis of an application for action under Regulation (EU) No 608/2013.

When is a settlement the better outcome?

Often, especially when both parties want to keep doing business or when the costs of litigation are out of proportion to the interest at stake. Because of the full cost order under Article 1019h Rv, the risk of losing weighs heavily on both sides.

Common settlements are:

• a coexistence agreement, in which both parties agree how they will use similar trade marks without confusion;
• a licence, in which the infringer pays a fee to continue using the right;
• a phase-out period, in which existing stock may be sold before the use stops;
• a signed undertaking to stop, with a penalty for each breach.

Mediation can help when there is an ongoing business relationship, for example between licensor and licensee. For international disputes, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center offers specialised procedures.

How do you prevent IP disputes?

By knowing what you own, registering what can be registered, and arranging ownership and confidentiality in writing. Under Article 7 of the Copyright Act, only works made by employees go to the employer automatically; everything else needs a written contract.

Map and register your IP

Make an inventory of your trade marks, designs, software, content and know-how. Register important trade marks and designs before you launch a product, and carry out a clearance search to check that no earlier rights stand in the way. Monitor the registers for new applications that resemble your marks; you can file an opposition with BOIP or EUIPO within a limited period after publication.

Arrange ownership in contracts

• Include an IP clause in employment contracts, confirming that rights in work created during employment belong to the employer.
• Have freelancers and agencies transfer their copyright by written deed, or agree on a clear licence.
• Agree in licence agreements on the territory, the duration, the fee and the ownership of improvements.

Protect confidential information

• Use confidentiality clauses in employment contracts and non-disclosure agreements with business partners.
• Restrict access to sensitive information and keep a record of who has access.
• Label confidential documents and remind departing employees of their obligations.

What should you check as a rights holder?

Before you send a letter or go to court, make sure your own position holds, because under Article 1019h Rv a lost case means paying the other side’s costs.

• Is your trade mark or design registered with BOIP or EUIPO for the goods or services concerned?
• Can you prove authorship and the date of creation of copyright works with drafts, source files or metadata?
• Have rights created by freelancers been transferred to you by written deed?
• Have you collected dated evidence of the infringement, such as screenshots, URLs and purchase receipts?
• Are you acting quickly enough to show urgency in summary proceedings?

What should you check if you are accused of infringement?

A cease-and-desist letter usually sets a short deadline, often a few days. Check these points before you sign any undertaking:

• Is the right valid and in force, or can it be challenged, for example a Dutch patent granted without substantive examination?
• Do you have an earlier right of your own, a licence or a trade name protected by use?
• Does the undertaking you are asked to sign contain a penalty per breach, and is it limited to what is actually infringing?
• What would the cost risk under Article 1019h Rv be if the matter goes to court?

What can we do for you in an intellectual property dispute?

Our corporate lawyers handle IP disputes from the first letter to court proceedings.

• We establish which rights you hold and check them against the registers of BOIP, EUIPO and the patent offices.
• We request leave for evidentiary seizure (bewijsbeslag) under Articles 1019b to 1019d Rv.
• We draft or answer the cease-and-desist letter and negotiate the undertaking.
• We start or defend summary proceedings and main proceedings, including before the District Court of The Hague.
• We draft coexistence agreements, licences and IP clauses for employment and freelance contracts.

Summary

• Start by establishing which right you hold and from when: registered rights follow from the register, copyright and trade secrets from your own evidence.
• Trade secrets are only protected if you take reasonable measures to keep them secret.
• Dutch procedure offers fast remedies: evidentiary seizure, summary proceedings and injunctions with penalty payments.
• The losing party usually pays the full and reasonable legal costs (Article 1019h Rv), so weigh your case carefully before you start.
• Prevent disputes with registrations, IP clauses in contracts and confidentiality measures.

Frequently asked questions