What is the difference between a Benelux trade mark and an EU trade mark?

Coverage is the key difference

A Benelux mark is valid in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg; a European Union mark is valid in all Member States of the European Union. If you only do business in the Benelux, you can make do with a registration at the BOIP. If you also have customers outside the Benelux or expect to acquire them, you are more likely to look at a European Union mark via the EUIPO — that covers the entire EU in one go, with one application and one register.

The difference lies not only in the territory but also in what the conflict scan finds. For a European Union mark, the search is conducted against existing marks from all Member States, including names that have never come to light in the Benelux. For a Benelux mark, the search field is smaller, because only the BOIP register and the sources linked to it are relevant. A name that appears to be free in the Benelux may not be free in the rest of the EU — and conversely, an application for a European Union mark may be blocked by an earlier mark in a Member State that the applicant did not immediately consider. Which choice is more appropriate depends on where a business is currently active and where that is headed in the coming years; the conflict scan provides an indication of this, not a guarantee.

Where this distinction comes from

This distinction follows directly from the two registration systems as managed by the BOIP, the trademark office for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, and the EUIPO, the trademark office of the European Union. Both authorities describe on their own websites which territory their registration covers, which register goes with it, and how the application and examination procedure proceeds there; these two sources together explain why the territory — Benelux versus the full EU — is the core difference between these two types of mark.