Trademarks and your website: the basics
What a trade mark protects, how it relates to your domain and company name, and the checks worth doing before you invest in a brand.
The short answer
Three things are often confused: the company registration, which lets you trade under a name; the domain name, which is an address you rent; and the trade mark, which is the right to stop others using a confusingly similar sign for similar goods or services. Only the third gives protection. Trade marks are registered by territory, Benelux, the European Union, individual countries, or internationally through the Madrid system, and by class of goods and services under the Nice classification, so the registration is only as broad as the territories and classes you choose. The two practical implications for a business building a website and a brand are that you should search before you invest, because a conflicting earlier mark can force a rebrand after the brand is built, and that you should register in the territories and classes that match where and what you actually sell rather than everywhere. Once registered, the mark needs consistent use, monitoring for infringement, and renewal on time.
What each thing gives you
| Instrument | What it gives | What it does not give |
|---|---|---|
| Company registration | The right to trade under the name; public registration | Exclusivity; protection against similar names elsewhere |
| Domain name | An address for the period you pay for it | Any right to the name itself |
| Social media handle | Use of the handle on that platform | Any right; platforms reassign on trade mark complaints |
| Trade mark registration | The right to prevent confusingly similar use for similar goods and services in the territory and classes registered | Protection outside those territories and classes |
| Unregistered use | Limited protection in some jurisdictions, hard to enforce | Certainty |
| Copyright in a logo | Protection of the artistic work | Protection of the name as a brand |
Before you build a brand
- Search the registers for your intended territory and classes, for identical and similar marks.
- Search actual use: company registers, domains, social handles, app stores, search results.
- Check domain and handle availability together with the mark, since you need all three in practice.
- Get a professional clearance search for a name you will invest in seriously.
- File in the territories and classes that match your business, not everywhere.
- Register the logo separately if the visual identity matters, or as a combined mark.
- Use the mark consistently, as registered, and keep evidence of use.
- Monitor for similar filings and infringing use; watch services exist for this.
- Renew on time, typically every ten years, and record the dates.
Trade marks and your website
A registered mark supports practical remedies you will want eventually: getting a copycat domain transferred through dispute resolution, having a fake profile removed by a platform, stopping a competitor bidding on your name in advertising in some jurisdictions, and dealing with sites impersonating your business. Each of those processes asks for a registration number. Without one you are asking a platform to take your word for it, which is a much weaker position.
What this means for you
A company registration and a domain give you no exclusivity; a trade mark registration does, within the territories and classes you choose. Search the registers and actual use before investing in a name, get a professional clearance search for anything significant, register where and for what you actually trade, use the mark consistently, monitor and renew. This is general information rather than legal advice; a trade mark attorney is worth the fee for a name your business depends on.
Frequently asked questions
We registered the company and the domain. Is the name protected?
No. A company registration allows you to trade under a name; a domain gives you an address. Neither prevents another business from using a similar name, and neither defends you against the owner of an earlier trade mark who objects to yours. Registration as a trade mark in the relevant territory and classes is what creates the right to stop others, and it is a separate process from both.
Where should we register?
Where you trade. For a business operating in the Benelux, a Benelux registration covers the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. For the whole European Union, an EU trade mark covers all member states in one registration. Beyond that, national registrations or the international system extend protection country by country. Registering more widely than your actual market adds cost and can create obligations to use the mark.
What does the search involve?
Checking existing registrations in the registers for the territory and classes you intend to use, for identical and similar marks, and also checking trading names, domains and social handles in use. Basic searches are free through the official registers. For a name you intend to build a business on, a professional clearance search by a trade mark attorney is proportionate, because the cost of discovering a conflict after launch is a rebrand.
Sources
- EUIPO: Trade marks (accessed 2026-09-12)
- BOIP: Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (accessed 2026-09-12)